Kid Icarus Returns!
by Epic Networks
Summary: A midquel to Kid Icarus and Uprising that sends Pit into the Mortal Realm on the mission to get mortals to believe in his victory over Medusa. Ep.8 is up! The Titans have awaken, and the Angel of Darkness inside Pit returns with a vengeance. **First newest episode since last year after a year of writer's block! Yeah! :D **
1. KIR: Synopsis & Cast of Characters

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Synopsis: _A midquel to Kid Icarus and Kid Icarus: Uprising. _

_Following his victory against the Goddess of Darkness Medusa, Pit is cheered on and praised by the Goddess Palutena and the angel people of Angel Land for his bold effort. But back in the Mortal Realm, there are doubts that such his heroic deed was done to save everyone. Now as per his request, Pit is sent to the Mortal Realm, stripped away of his angel powers to live among the humans, in hope to make everyone believe in him again. But there is a catch: he must not reveal to them his true identity and the powers he can actually do, for unknown reasons. _

_"Okay, not a big deal, right?" Pit thought, as he can be pretty convincing to people, and his charm can always make anyone not say "No!". But how hard can it be, when he has mythological monsters and an evil figure working in the shadows, out to pluck his feathers for defeating Medusa? Now it's not his identity that is in danger. But it's his people's trust!_

_**OCs submission is now officially closed.**  
_

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_**-**__Cast of Characters__**-**_

**xXx**

**Kid Icarus Characters::**

-Pit  
-Palutena  
-Centurion Army  
-The Angel Senate  
-Dark Pit

**xXx**

**Original Characters:: **

Original characters by readers' request. Now accepting OCs. It should be any character, good or evil. Tell me their name, age (unknown acceptable), gender, and a little bit about the character. Their names must be unique and must sound like a Greek name or a Norse name or a Roman name too. So technically their name must sound medieval and epic.

I am also holding out a contest for Best Original Character as a Main Hero/Heroine and Main Villain/Villainess. More information below.

-Ventus  
-Aleda  
-Durand  
-Acario  
-Galen  
-Gwenifer  
-Pilaf  
-Bella  
-Terren  
-Praus  
-Didache  
-Ebony  
-Zeidrik  
-Balthazar

xxx

Name:** Ventus **(belongs to _fluffyness-kills_)

Gender: Female

Age: how ever old Pit is.

Appearence: is around five foot six inches and has long golden hair with green  
eyes, usually keeps hair loose or sometimes in a braid. wears anything  
comfortable as long as it is light color.

Weapon: has a quiver and a bow, but prefers her katana (sword)

pretty good at hand to hand as well.

About Ventus 101: Is very driven to make things write in the world. is Very  
protective of her friends and fears being left alone because her family was  
killed when she was little. She has a bit of a sarcastic side to her and loves  
to use it against her enemies. She hates Medusa for killing her family as is  
out for personal revenge against anyone who would want to bring her back to  
life. she becomes a darker version of herself when confronted about death and  
the ideas of revenge.

xxx

Name: **Aleda** (belongs to _Upsilon Four_)

Gender: Female

Age: however old pit is.

Appearance: 5'2" long white hair. Green eyes, wearing the traditional toga.  
Gray wings (stained from years of smoke and her sadness) bronze greaves, arm  
guards, and a green belt on her waist, that holds two swords.

(She is trying to be a hero.)

Personality: friendly, kind, caring, and just a tad bit insane. Resourceful,  
and she is docile, but you wouldn't want to try to catch her in a dark alley  
and escape alive. Hates posers and prisses. She likes people who stand up for  
what they believe in, are loyal, and have a sense of judgment. (aka; she's  
gonna have a sort of crush on pit) She's a sort of person who doesn't give  
second chances to undeserving people. She feels guilty when she might have  
been able to save someone, but couldn't. If forced to, she could be queen of  
the bloodbath and not feel any guilt (slightly insane, remember?)

Backstory: Her family members were the ones who forged the weapons for the  
royal army. Aleda learned how to make indestructible blades and greatbows.  
Her grandfather forged the silver armor, and she wants to live up to his name.  
Her family members were all killed and her twin sister kidnapped when the  
seekers came and destroyed anyone who could be a threat to the uprising of  
their dark lord. She seeks revenge after she has now created two katanas from  
ghost tears, making a blade that has no resistance in water, dirt, or (ick)  
flesh. She carries her sister's wooden greatbow and arrows in case she sees  
her again.

xxx

Name: **Durand** (belongs to _Upsilon Four_)

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Appearance: Tall, Muscular, Dark red toga, sandals, Brown eyes, black hair.  
Has a scar across his chest. Red wings, and he wears snake mask and a black  
cloak when he goes out at night so no one recognizes him. Has a broadsword  
that he keeps on his waist.

Profession: Sorcerer once he was turned to an angel.

Personality: Creepy, power-hungry; a narcissist who likes having people under his thumb, so to speak.

Backstory: He was one of the emperors of Rome when civil wars were occurring.  
He was one of the 'bad' emperors, and was assassinated. He was in solitary  
confinement for 10 years, for ripping off someone's wings.  
He was power hungry, and anyone that could help him to 'gain his place on the  
throne' again is someone he would side with.

xxx

Name: **Acario** (belongs to _Upsilon Four_)

Gender: Male

Appearance: Tattered gray-blue toga, his hands are wrapped in rags (like the  
sandbenders from Avatar: The last airbender) Has a belt with a tooth as the  
buckle. Lanky. tan and his hair is red and dirty. Blue eyes, and gray-red  
wings. Has a tattered scarf and headband, which he uses to wrap his face so  
only his eyes and hair show.

Personality: Pervertedly-funny. Very creepy, and has connections everywhere.  
Very trusting, sly and sneaky.

Backstory: Acario was a con-man of sorts that traded with  
Egypt and the Arab region. That's why he wears those types of wrap-up  
clothes. He had no parents when he grew up, but went street-wise and became a  
con man after sharpening his skills. He died in a fire as he tried to escape  
with his friend, who he doesn't remember. His horse and friend escaped, he  
died getting them out. His death and how he survived by doing what he needed  
to do are how he barely scraped into Angel Land.

Weapon: Fights with silver daggers and knives, more hand to hand combat.

xxx

Name: **Galen (aka King Frederiss)** (belongs to _EpicNetworks_)

Gender: Male

Appearance: miiworld. deviantart gallery/#/d2eeu0y. Red hair and piercing blue eyes,  
Instead of the one in the picture, he wears a white opened collar noble shirt, dark-green vest,  
green cape, black baggy trousers, like Terra's pants in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and green silver boots.  
Wears a metal belt with a Dragon buckle. Has a tattoo on his left arm and diamond stud on his right ear.

Personality: Charismatic, cheerful, free-spirited and has a cocky, headstrong side.

Backstory: -Galen is the main character in my Fire Emblem crossover fanfics _Fire Emblem Gx and Fire Emblem Vs.  
_In both stories, he appears as human in the real world.  
But in this story, he takes his true root as Baron Dragon (or Dragon Emperor so to speak), which he discovered in such stories.

Galen is the Dragon Emperor of Olympia, the Land of Dragons, which recently got invaded by the Empire of Rome.  
Following the invasion and the capture of many of his dragon people, Galen was forced to retreat from his home for his safety.  
Galen has ever since regretted taking that decision and soon felt greatly responsible for the fall of his country.  
He occasionally hides his pain with his cheerful cocky personality; but in his heart,  
he is determined to see his country and his people free again from the tyranny of Rome;  
even if it means getting captured! The dragon people refer to him as King Frederiss, as it is his real native name.

Weapon: Magic is his only source of weapon.

xxx

Name: **Gwenifer** (belongs to _Mace the Manakete_)

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Appearance: -Light blonde wavy hair, green eyes;  
wears a satin, Athenian gown with gold trim by the waist and shoulder,  
and a veil attached to her gold circlet.

Personality: -Calm, serene, gentle, always has that appeal to lift people's spirits and believe in her.

Backstory: -Gwenifer is the princess of Rome and daughter of Pilaf.  
Though her father is as ruthless and as cold as the arctic, Gwenifer is composed,  
and always managed to make the best out of all tough situations.  
She sometimes questioned herself, and her father, of his tyrannical actions,  
including his attempt at the uprising of Medusa, the Goddess of Darkness.

xxx

Name: **Pilaf** (belongs to _Mace the Manakete_)

Gender: Male

Age: 56

Appearance: -Wears a crusader cloak and tunic with red trims and sash,  
sandals, and gold cuffs that goes from his wrist to his hands.  
Has short gray hair and green eyes with wrinkles over them.  
Has a gold leaf crown similar to Pit's.

Personality: -Calm, quiet, cold personality.  
Doesn't take no for an answer.  
Hates magic with passion. Hates it so much that he's willing to execute anyone who practices it, or possesses it.

Backstory: -Pilaf is the ruler of the Empire of Rome and the father to Gwenifer.  
Following the fall of the last Emperor, Pilaf quickly took over, giving more unrest to the people in the country.  
They say that Pilaf's ruleship not only makes people fear him,  
but it makes people not trying to get to his bad side.  
What the people don't know however is that Pilaf is  
working behind the scene to make the uprising of Medusa happen.

xxx

Name: **Bella** (belongs to _Mace the Manakete_)

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Appearance: -About 5'3'' and has blue wavy hair and green eyes,  
green and white skinny two-piece Scottish gown, and sandals.

Personality: -Friendly, docile and kind. Has a passion for exploring.

Backstory: -Bella lives in a small town in the outskirt of the Empire of Rome.  
She's the daughter of a hunter and wants to travel the world;  
but to her father's avail, she cannot. She crossed path with Pit after he saved her from danger.  
But will she ever get that chance to travel with him?  
Unlike the human in the world, she strongly believes in Pit for defeating Medusa,  
but of course she doesn't know that the Pit who saved her is _the _Pit!

Weapon: -Bow and quiver, borrowed from her father's.

xxx

Name: **Terren** (belongs to _Rhodes's_)

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Appearance: -Dark blue cotton shirt with collar and lace-up front,  
brown trousers, belt, and hunter's boots.  
Carries a sword attached to his waist.  
Has hair similar to Super Sayan Goku's from _Dragon Ball Z, _  
except it's blue, and has brown eyes.

Personality: -Cocky, reckless,  
a troublemaker who always gets himself and others in trouble.  
Always wows the ladies; a womanizer.

Backstory: -Terren is a traveling mercenary who wants to challenge anyone in any friendly or non-friendly competition:  
sword battles, racing, anything legal or illegal you name it. He's very competitive, hates losers, and HATES losing.  
The first time he met Pit, he challenged him to a friendly beer-drinking competition (but if he knew how old Pit was).  
He thinks there is no such thing as a savior who can defeat Medusa  
and always provokes Pit for being defensive when it comes to this issue.

Weapon: -Broadsword and slingshot to strike people from afar.

xxx

Name: **Praus** (means "gently strong" in Greek) (belongs to _Ze Dybbuk_)

(rhymes with "floss")

Gender: Female

Age: Really young. Between eight and twelve.

Appearance: Praus has black hair and sun-darkened skin. She spends a lot of  
time helping her father and brothers catch fish, so she usually smells like  
salt water. She dresses in a plain, tan-colored toga and usually goes  
barefoot.

Talents and Personality: Since she grew up in a fishing family, Praus is  
uncommonly talented at catching things, people included. Her favorite tool is  
a big hook on a rope that is traditionally used for dragging in fishnets, but  
she's perfected her skills with it to the point where she can catch running  
dogs or her unwary siblings. Although rambunctious and hungry for adventure,  
Praus is still a child and is often intimidated by the dangerous situations  
she can get herself into.

xxx

Name: **Didache** (name means "doctrine" in Greek) (belongs to _Ze Dybbuk_)

(sounds like "did-AH-chee")

Gender: Male

Age: Nobody knows. But he's probably about the same age as that old  
shriveled raisin woman from that one episode of Spongebob where they were  
selling chocolate.

Appearance: Everything about Didache is gangly and decrepit. His hair is  
whitish-grey and his beard goes down to his knees. His skin is wrinkled and  
his joints look like gnarled tree branches.

Talents and Personality: Didache is a necromancer; he's dedicated his life  
to summoning, speaking with, and reanimating spirits from the realm of death.  
When Medusa was defeated by Pit so many years ago, Didache began to receive  
messages from her. She told him that if he successfully reanimated her she  
would grant him a portion of her vast power. She promised to make him  
immortal. Didache, a weak and selfish man, was intrigued by these promises,  
and has spent several years gathering the ingredients necessary to bring back  
Medusa. Right now he's lacking only one: ten feathers from the back of the  
angel who slew her. That'd be Pit. If Didache ever learns where Pit is, he  
will call forth an undead army to capture the angel and steal the feathers  
necessary to reincarnate Medusa.

xxx

Name: **Ebony** (means dark beauty in Greek) (belongs to _JannieJam_)

Gender: Female

Age : An year older than Pit

Personality : Witty , easily angered , harsh, nice and cheerful once you get to know her, fearless and sometimes pessimistic. Also is very skilled in one on one combat.

Appearence: ebony wear a black tunic outlined in violet with a belt; similar  
to pit's; has black wings and wears sandals.

Her main weapon is a magical boomerang that changes depending on the the enemy  
in order to cause the most damage.

Has dark brown curly hair that falls to about her shoulders and purple eyes.  
She is about as tall as pit.

Backstory: Before the events in Kid Icarus happened, Ebony was the captain of  
Palutena's army before Pit was.

One day, she was captured by Medusa and brought to the Underworld. There, her  
memory was wiped clean and was trained to serve in medusa's army instead. She  
then became the captain of medusa's army and lead the attack on angel land  
that lead to the kidnap of Palutena. And that's when Kid Icarus took place.

She now lives in the Underworld, waiting for the right moment to get her  
revenge on pit.

xxx

Name: **Zeidrik** (belongs to _Rhodes's_)

Gender: Male

Age: Unknown

Appearance: -Dark buzzcut hair and dark skin. Gold greaves, and arm  
guards, silver leaf crown and a complete white shirt and pants ensemble,  
and gold sandals.

Personality: -Talkative, always ready to speak his mind, and sometimes paranoid and judgmental when it comes to facing tough decisions.

Backstory: -Zeidrik was once a captain of Palutena's Centurion Army and has trained Pit into the arts of command. Since then, Zeidrik has grown to be more than a teacher to Pit, but also an advisor and a father figure to him. When he learned about Pit's decision to head to the Mortal Realm, he vowed to look out for him.

Weapon: -Carries a Silver Bow that also splits into two large masamune.

xxx

Name: **Balthazar** (belongs to _Rhodes's_)

Gender: Male

Appearance: -Weights about 250 pounds, muscular like a pro wrestler, carries an axe, wears a coyote hide over his shoulder and around his waist. He's bare-chested, showing marks of years of fighting. Has big black eyes, and red Mohawk and scruffy-looking. Looks like a typical bandit.

Personality: -Balthazar looks like your average type of bad guy you don't wanna be around with, but he's actually a sweet sensitive guy who's very nature-preserved and not afraid to show his soft side often; but most of the time, he is brutal, aggressive, and short-tempered.

Backstory: -Balthazar was once a gladiator in service to the Empire of Rome and one of the best contenders there. But right after Durand relinquished his throne, he also relinquished his title and has ever since then traveled across the world looking for a great fight. He despises homes and prefers to sleep outside.

Weapon: -Axe

xxx

* * *

**- Best Original Character as a Main Hero/Heroine**

This slot is for one unique OC submitted to me that I think will totally fit them as a hero to counterpart with Pit and join him on his adventure.

So the contest came to a close and all submissions were really excellent. So I'm keeping all of them. However, they were so good that I was having a hard time deciding who should be the best. So based on the story plot and such, Pit will have the following five characters with whom he will interact with most of the time.

And here are the lucky winners:

-Bella  
-Praus  
-Terren  
-Zeidrik  
-Aleda

* * *

**- Best Original Character as a Main Villain/Villainess**

Same deal with villains. This slot is for one unique OC submitted to fit as the main villain. The villain of course will counteract Pit and his companion on their adventure and must have one goal in mind: to bring Medusa back to life!

The villains, unlike the heroes, were at least easy to figure out who should be the best. And so here is the best villain on the mission to bring Medusa back.

The lucky winner is:

-Ebony


	2. Prologue: Kid Icarus Returns

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Prologue: Kid Icarus Returns

_-Couple of years ago, an angel named Pit defeated the goddess of Darkness Medusa and saved both the Angel Realm of Skyworld and the Mortal Realm. His courage and valiant victory was revered by many, and has nominated Pit as the realm's archangel, protector of the Goddess. _

_But the Mortal Realm believed in no such victory. In fact, they believe in no such thing as a kid who can single-handedly defeat a demoness like Medusa!_

_And so Pit, as fiery as ever, made an official plea to the goddess of Light Palutena, in front of the whole Skyworld Senate…_

.

"Send me to the Mortal Realm, Palutena!" Pit exclaimed, "So that I can prove to the people what I'm capable of!"

Pit's plea rocked the Senate, so much that their woeful cries shook the interior walls of the audience chamber from within the Skyworld Palace. The young Pit was standing in front of the goddess Palutena and her dozen of angelic Senate officials who seemed to have all kinds of questions.

And so one angel senator said, "Now wait a second young Pit," He had white beard long enough to reach the floor, was bald and carried a wise yet strict air around him, "You couldn't possibly take up such crazy offer like that now, would you?"

"The Mortal Realm is full of sin and hate!" exclaimed yet another Senator. That one was younger than the first and looked more intellectual with thin spectacles adjusted to his piercing olive-colored eyes, and had drawn cheekbones to show old age as well, "It is no wonder that they refuse to accept Medusa's defeat to the hands of yours. They are selfish!"

And another Senate said jokingly, "And apparently, you are turning into one self of a fish…" She was a woman with pursed lips, wrinkles all over making her expression droopier than the rest, and she had the hair that looked like heavy chocolate mousse.

The Senators all roared in agreement to that last comment. Pit was selfish.

But Pit himself did not think so.

He repeated, "Me selfish?" with his finger poking on his chest, not believing what he just heard. "Me selfish?" He was nowhere near selfishness! To many angels, he was a charismatic, cheerful boy with a sense of adventure and more importantly a people's person! Or a people's angel! Maybe a people angel's to 50% of the Angels in Skyworld, he briefly thought at least… but either way, selfish people were so not people's angel!

He turned to Palutena and asked sincerely, "Lady Palutena? Am I selfish? Really. Be honest here." He smiled at her, already knowing her answer.

The goddess's calm and gentle green eyes surveyed the chamber, where the entire Senators' eyes met her gaze as well, before she could fix hers on Pit. She smiled and said unto Pit, "I strongly admire what you believe in."

Pit grinned from ear to ear.

"But I am going to have to agree with the Senate on this one." She finished.

Again, Pit could not believe his ears, "What?"

"Pit. Listen to me. It is a big risk that you are taking." The goddess explained, "Do you not think so?"

Pit hesitated, already knowing how much he will give up just going to the Mortal Realm and posing as a mortal. He would be stripped off of his powers and his wings, so to live life as a mortal. Palutena's lending hands will no longer be effective on him anymore. And his chance to defeat Medusa once again as compared to last time, if, and only IF she ever came back from the dead, would be extremely slim.

"W…well… yeah. But…"

"…it's madness." The second Senator interrupted, finishing his sentence. Pit frowned. That was not the end of the sentence he had in mind. The senator went on, "It's absolute madness. Now young Pit, unless you know what's best for you as captain of the Centurion Army and the Goddess' personal favorite, and archangel or not, may I suggest you stick around Skyworld and let the rest of us angels deal with this, m'kay?"

The audience chamber roared again in agreement and Pit disapproving of their counsel began to quarrel with the senate. The pious goddess raised her hand up high and just like that, dead silence fell into the audience chamber.

And she said unto her Senate, "my sons of the Senate. I understand your concern. You do not want to lose Pit into the world that has turned away from Light to worship the Darkness ever since Medusa. However, be that as it may, they still are in need of salvation. And I believe that Pit is the key; the key to the Realm below, as he was the key to the Realm above."

And just when she said that, the senators turned troubling while the look on Pit's face shimmered in hope; and the first senator said, "What are you saying, Goddess of Light? Are you not suggesting that—!"

And the goddess said unto Pit, "Pit. I shall grant your wish. As of today, you are no longer angel, or arch angel of this realm. You are now Pit, mortal squire from the earth below."

And so it is with her gentle kind words that Palutena granted Pit's wishes to become mortal and live within the Mortal Realm: by making scarce of his divine appearance, stripped him off his angelic attire and wings, and showed him the way out of the Angel Realm and into the Mortal Realm via a large portal shimmering in light. Though it was great pity she had to do this, she remained serene and pious all this time. But the Senate was nowhere near serene.

So Pit took off from the audience chamber toward the shimmering portal to the Mortal Realm, and cheerfully shouted out to the goddess a big, "Thank you!" as the Senate watched him drop off the heavens with great panic striking their faces like thunder.

"Your Holiness!" one of the Senators shouted, "What madness is this?"

And the blinking Palutena replied, "I am giving Pit what he wishes: a chance to prove to the mortals beneath his full potential."

And then another senator said, "But your goddess! He is stripped off his angelic attire and you have rendered him naked!"

And then another senator barked out, "and mortals cannot fly!"

It was then that the goddess realized her mistake. Her pious eyes widened and she quietly said, "oh dear…"

Pit, the Kid Icarus, having no idea what the goddess just did to him—though he still believed that she did this out of favor of him and out of his desperate plea—was still falling and falling and 'graciously' falling countless feet in the air, heading down the earth below. He opened his eyes and twisted his naked body forth to face a large Ancient Europe city down below, looking like colonies of ants. He felt the strong wind breeze in his face, as refreshing as ever.

"What a glorious day! Oh glory to the goddess on high! Now let the wings—!"

And then he stopped talking, abruptly realizing something was wrong. And he knew what it was: he was human. He was naked…

...and he had no wings!

"Whoa…! The wings!" Pit wallowed out loud, as a great trouble of spirit struck his nerves and he cried out for help with exceeding loudness as he plummeted to the absolute death below.

It was then that a warm glow wrapped around the ex-angel like a warm blanket and his fast-pacing fall began to slow, like time was dawdling around him.

And he heard Palutena's voice and she said unto him, "_My deepest condolences for my earlier stumble, Pit. I have failed to let you know that as a human, you no longer possess the abilities of an angel or an arch angel of Skyworld, the Angel Realm. That also includes the ability to fly. Moreover, you have not lost your fighting touch, so you are still welcome to use your weapon arsenal anyway you can_."

And then she added, "_And Pit, remember this, you cannot return to Skyworld and reclaim your full angelic form unless you have fully succeeded on your mission. But as you dwell within the Mortal Realm, make sure you keep your angelic heritage a secret. And beware of the Avalon. Despite its magnificent attire, you must flee from it, like a forbidden fruit_."

And so the light glow around Pit softly landed him into a sea of tree, in which one of its branches snapped the warm light and landed him on top of the branches. The chilly wind breezed right through Pit's naked body and into his bones, and Pit was freezing.

Pit looked up the sky and said, "Err… Lady Palutena? In case you haven't noticed, I'm naked and I'm freezing here."

"_Oh, Pit. You poor guy…_" the goddess laughed, and yet another glowing light wrapped around Pit. Before the light could even fade, the branch snapped off and Pit went falling through the sea of trees, screaming his guts out until he landed onto a shallow river in a huge smack, splashing all over two young mortal girls who were fishing by the riverbank.

"EEEk!" They screamed.

"What was that?" yelled a young sun darkened-skinned girl with ebony hair. She wore a plain, tan-colored toga and was barefoot.

"Something caught the net!" yelled another young girl, older than the first girl and light-skinned with blue wavy hair. She wore a green and white skinny two-piece Scottish gown, and sandals, "Come and help me pull, Praus!"

And so the little girl Praus went to help her friend, grabbing her fishing hook and hooked it up to the net. Together they pulled the net hard with all their strength. Finally the net emerged out of the shallow river and flew straight to shore with plenty of flopping fishes and what looked like a human carcass. The girls screamed.

"Something died in there Bella!" Praus yelled.

"Wait a minute…" the girl, Bella, said, noticing that the human carcass inside the net was not really a carcass but a young boy still alive and kicking. She went to the net, took a small knife and cut the net open. But when she did it, she wasn't thinking and the flood of fishes piled up on her, completely burying her in smelly fish meat. The now mortal boy Pit was unconscious, and groggy on top of the fish pile.

Awhile thereafter, Pit had recovered from his earlier scare and met the two fisher girls. The oldest girl, Bella, was still rendered in fish stench, and her friend Praus was once again cheerful to see that the young boyish stranger was still alive and not a carcass.

"I'm glad you are all right." Praus said unto Pit, "For a moment there, we thought we had found a poor soul who has fallen victim to the cruelty of the war."

"Glad I haven't fallen into that." Pit retorted shakily, as he was really cold. At least he was no longer bare. But he was in his best and fanciest—wearing a long sleeve white cotton tunic, trousers, and a vest of golden faint color. His bracers were still on and the halo that used to be circling around his wrist had taken the shape of a bangle fit for a young royal.

He still had his leaf crown, and this and his mortal attire prompted Praus to ask of him, "Are you a prince or something?"

"Praus!" Bella snapped at her friend, "Don't be so upfront." She then faced Pit and said, "I apologize for my friend here. I'm Bella and she is Praus. We come from a small village in the outskirts of Rome. What is your name?"

"I...uh... I'm Pit." Pit responded.

"Pit?" Bella gasped.

"Pit! What an unusual name." Praus said, "And so divine too! You really are a prince are you?"

"Gee," Pit grinned nervously, "I wish I was but I'm..."

"Because," Praus went on, "We poor villagers don't see ourselves interacting with people of high social status and your outfit and your leaf crown says otherwise."

"Oh!" Pit got the message, noticing his outfit and his leaf crown. He shrugged and said to them, "I can change if you want."

Just as he was about to strip off his clothing, the girls suddenly screamed a woeful blow. Bella shielded Praus's vision and barked at Pit, "Woh! Woh! Woh! Don't strip in front of us!"

The curious dumbfounded Pit let go off his clothing and asked, "Why not?"

"Boy you're not from around here, are you?" Praus said to Pit as Bella retreated her hands from her eyes. She coldly glared at him as if he had committed a crime. And Pit did not know this, for in the Mortal Realm, it was unlawful to strip off one's clothes in public.

And Bella furthermore said, "If you strip off your clothes in public, you'll lose possession of your head by guillotine under the Roman Law."

Pit held on his neck and gasped horrifically, "I will lose my what now?"

"Boy, you're REALLY not from around here." Praus said to him and laughed out loud.

xXx

Back in Skyworld,

"My goddess in Heaven!"

Palutena heard a cry and watched two angel folks rushing toward her with panic on their faces.

The first angel looked middle-aged and had a drawn face, high cheekbones, and clean-shaken. He had dark buzzcut hair and dark skin, and wore gold greaves, and armguards, a silver leaf crown, sported silver wings, and was dressed in a complete white shirt and pants ensemble with ivory sashes and gold sandals.

The second angel was a girl, around Pit's age. She had long white hair, green eyes, wore the traditional toga and sported gray wings; she wore bronze greaves, armguards, and a green belt around her waist that beheld two fancy swords.

"Is what you did true?" the first angel barked, "Have you banished Pit to the Mortal Realm as a human?"

And lo! Came the cry of many angelfolks in the congregation and the Senate of the goddess's audience chamber. And Palutena, still serene and pious as always spoke to them.

"Zeidrik. Aleda. Everyone else in the congregation. I can honestly tell you that I did not banish Pit to the Mortal Realm as a human."

And once again the audience cried out in shock. Was the pious goddess lying to them? They clamored. But then she didn't finish.

"I merely fulfill his wish to be banish from Skyworld to live in the Mortal Realm as a human." She then said, "Pit is welcome anytime back in the Skyworld… but only if he can fulfill his mission."

"Is he for real?" Aleda said, her eyes on Zeidrik, "Really?"

"He's nuts!" Zeidrik yelled.

And the congregation cried out woe again. And the goddess said unto them again, "I understand your plight. But rest assured that I have faith in Pit on his mission. And he shall return to Skyworld once he had let all humans know of his legacy in the Skyworld and the Mortal Realm."

But not far from the congregation was a shadowy winged figure. And he heard everything. And he was willing to see the day Pit falls to darkness instead. And so at this thought the figure chuckled and took his leave, disappearing into the shadows.

xXx

Back in the Mortal Realm, later that night, Bella had invited Pit to have dinner at her father's house. And when it comes to foods, Pit was gluttonous.

There were fresh fruits, warm breads with chocolate jam spreads, and fresh milk, and grilled fishes just enough for everybody; and Pit had finished three plates of them so far. It was cute at first, but then it was getting annoying… for Bella's father of course. For Bella's father, like Pit, was also gluttonous. And he hated it when his guests finished most of his foods. The foods he had worked so hard to make and to feed his family with, _and_ himself.

So soon after Pit licked off his fifth place, Bella's father asked, "Do you always find time to take everything that does not belong to you with your mouth, young man?"

Pit hesitated with his mouth full, then he finally said, "…I don't understand."

"You're from a royal family are you not?" the father asked, taking notice to Pit's fancy attire the goddess Palutena had conjured up for him, "And is not that what most royal figures do for a living? Taking from the poor?"

"Father…" Bella whispered, and the father noticed that his daughter was getting discomfited with his questions. And he does not like getting his daughter discomfited… unless on occasion, if she brings a boy around her age who wanted to betrothed her. But he wanted to make a point. So he said, "Now, now honey. Don't be discomfited. I am just trying to make sense in all of this."

"Uhh… sir. I'm not really from the royal family." Pt said.

Bella looked confused and said, "But I thought that you came from a royal family. You said so yourself."

Pit hesitated, "I did… I meant…" Pit hesitated some more, trying to come up with a good lie. Then he said, "…a distant royal family…" and then Pit remembered Palutena's words of advice not to let anyone know of his true heritage as the protector of the goddess, the Arch Angel from Skyworld the Angel Land. And so he added, "…I don't really like to talk about it."

He then remembered her warning. She told him to stay away from a magnificent object called the Avalon. So remembering that, he decided to immediately change the subject the moment he noticed Bella's father frozen gaze on him, and got discomfited by that.

"Can I ask you guys something? What is the Avalon?"

Bella's father's frozen gaze relaxed and it became a mix of shock and admiration, "You are searching for the Avalon?" he said, "Then you must truly be coming from a distant family."

"I guess so." Pit grimaced.

"Oh. You will love its beauty." The father said, "The Avalon is a magnificent piece of treasure. A family treasure in fact… belonging to the Imperial Family of Olympia."

"Olympia?" Pit blinked.

"The legendary kingdom." He went on, "High up North at the foot of Mt. Olympus." He then frowned again, "Unfortunately it was taken away by those damn Romans. And its Emperor is now using its power to lure people from all over to participate in a sick twisted tournament of wills and fits."

"Romans?" Pit blinked, "Tournament?"

"Ah, yes." The father replied, "Emperor Pilaf of the Roman Empire. The newest Emperor who took over the throne shortly after the Old Emperor's death. We thought he would lead us to freedom after the latter gave us grief. Alas, he proved us wrong by making enemies with Olympia. He took over the kingdom and ravaged all those poor citizens there, slaughtered the royal family, and left one more to die in its blood. All that because of their personal treasure."

The father then shook his head, his distraught eyes on the floor, "Now he has invited people from all over to feast their eyes on the Avalon and claim its magic in a Tournament, so that they can have all the powers necessary to partake on the grand prize: his daughter's hand in marriage. Blasphemy!"

He slammed on the table angrily and turned his gaze back on Pit, "young man. You look like a brave, bold and respectable person to carry on this task. So for that I implore you to partake on this tournament, but only to take back Olympia's family treasure."

Pit blinked. It was difficult to digest all that information in one sitting. And he could choke. The goddess had warned Pit of the Avalon. And yet, it was a beloved family treasure from a kingdom taken over by an Empire. And that family treasure must be taken back to its rightful place. And Pit always believed in that, for he hated thieves and swindlers.

So Pit had this broad smile on his face and declared, "You can count on me, sir!"

Bella who was watching all of this unfolding, appeared impressed by the young man's full determination to travel on this quest. Heck, that young man reminded her of a hero very brave and dear to her heart. A hero she could talk about in stories and myths. At one point in fact, she actually believed Pit _was _that hero. But her friends and family never believed in her and thought she was foolish enough to believe such hero existed.

And here he was. Sitting at her father's table, having dinner.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Traveling Companions**


	3. Ep1: Traveling Companions

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 1: Traveling Companions

_…and so it was with great plea from Pit to the pious goddess Palutena that he requested his full leave from the Angel Realm of Skyworld to the Mortal Realm down below, and the goddess Palutena granted him just that._

_Now Pit, no longer an angel or archangel of the Angel Realm of Skyworld, was now a mortal living among all in the Mortal Realm, on a personal mission to make the people revere the name of Pit, the Kid Icarus across all the Realms across this Earthly dimension._

_Alas, this mission for Pit will not turn out quite as simple as he thought. For there will be dangers slithering through his every move, his every path… dangers that are out to destroy him completely…_

-On the night Pit came into the Mortal Realm, he was invited to dine with a young girl named Bella and her father at her father's house in the outskirts of Rome.

He was given a delicious meal and was also offered a warm bed to stay the night. And Pit, as generous as he was, accepted the offer and spent the night.

But he did not sleep well, for in the middle of that quiet night he was woken up by a disturbing noise outside.

So Pit left the guest chamber and went out to investigate, unknowingly aware that Bella heard him and quietly followed him.

Pit stepped outside and glanced around the small meadow and quiet pond in front of him and noticed the pine trees closing in on him and the small house. Bella's father's house has always been surrounded by trees, even in the winter when they couldn't lose their green color, but would be covered in snow.

"I could have sworn I heard a noise." He said to himself before he heard more rustling of the trees and bushes nearby. Alerted he made his blades appear at will to the palm of his hands and slowly took steps. As Palutena has mentioned, Pit still has not lost his angelic powers to fight with his weapons even though he was now a mortal. And Bella who was spying from the window of her father's kitchen had witness his powers firsthand.

"C'mon out, man! You can't scare me anymore." Pit said to whoever was hiding in the bushes.

More rustling of the trees and bushes caught Pit's direction to his right, and he saw a shadow zoom past. Pit ran toward the bush and swung his blade, cutting the bushes' leaves off "YAAH!"

But he saw nothing.

"Huh?"

The shadow jumped him from behind and he screamed, startled. But the shadow tackled him to the ground and put his hand over the young boy's mouth, restraining him from screaming again and he whispered, "Quiet, damnit, or else you'll catch unwanted attention."

Pit bit the shadow's hand and the shadow screamed in pain. Pit jumped back to his feet and stopped, startled again at the clear appearance of the shadow. It was Zeidrik.

"Zeidrik?" he said.

"Damnit! Thanks a lot, Pit!" Zeidrik shouted at him, his wings ruffling with discontent from the huge bite he got on his hand. He stared at his bleeding palm, gently blow on it, and the wound gently closed up, completely healing. And Bella has seen all of this from the window of her father's kitchen.

"Hey, sorry for letting you jump on me like that, and not let me react and bite you." Pit hissed, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"You mean us?" Zeidrik clarified to him.

"Us?" Pit blinked then added, "…wait, you brought someone else here too?"

Zeidrik pointed up, "Aleda." He said to him before staring up to the trees, "Apparently, she still has a lot to learn about properly landing down the ground with her wings."

Pit saw Aleda tied up to the pine trees, the branches wrapping around her wings. And of course, Bella saw that other angel. It was at that point in time that Bella thought she was dreaming.

Aleda angrily said to Zeidrik, "Well, thank you SO much for your deep concern, Z."

Zeidrik faced Pit again and said to him, "We need to take you back home Pit." and Pit had that discontent look on his face. But Zeidrik went on, "What you are doing right now is inhuman. You can't just give up your angelic rights and powers so that you can come here in the Mortal Realm and make these people like you for saving them from that demonic Medusa. Sometimes you need to be rational and start acting like an adult rather than a child."

"I AM being—!" Pit immediately stopped shouting, glanced back to the house, hoping not to disturb those who were sleeping, then he lowered his voice in a harsh whisper and went on, "I am being rational, Z! The goddess Palutena granted my permission. So there's naught you can do about it."

"Yeah," Zeidrik rolled his eyes, "much to her dismay."

"AND," Pit added, "This was my decision in the first place anyway. Just as the goddess said to me, I won't go back to Skyworld until my mission is complete and these people reveres the name of Pit as the Hero of Light who had defeated the Goddess of Darkness, rather than the kid who had no chance against a woman whose idea of fashion is to have snakes as her personal hairstyle!"

And Bella has heard everything from the window of her father's kitchen. And she was shocked altogether by what she had uncovered. Angels existed, and they were in her father's backyard! The existence of a Goddess of Light and a Goddess of Darkness were all very true, and that hero she talked about in stories and myths, and whom her friends and family thought was a figment of her imagination was no such figment. Pit was really that hero. And that hero was an angel. An angel who has single-handedly defeated the goddess of Darkness Medusa.

"And wait a minute." Pit went on to Zeidrik, "Mortals don't usually see angels, right? I'm a mortal now, so how come I can see you?"

"Apparently the goddess has left out some angelic powers within you." Zeidrik explained, "Your fighting ability is one of them. The other one is a no-brainer: your communication with your kinds."

"Apparently, she doesn't want to lose contact with you!" Aleda shouted out from above the trees, "And so does everyone else in Skyworld who looks up to you!"

"Thank you." Pit shouted back to Aleda. She gave him a thumbs-up.

"But," Zeidrik went on, "Mortals however will not be able to see us, except those with a very special gift. As of right now, if a mortal was to walk in front of you, they'll see you talking to me as if you're talking to yourself. And mortals who talk to themselves are freaks. Freaks I say to you. So don't make that mistake of talking to me in front of a mortal if you don't want to be branded a psychopath."

"Okay, I get it now," Pit said to Zeidrik, "now just shut up before someone sees us… I mean me." He then stared back at Aleda up the trees, "…you too, Aleda." He started walking back into the house, and Bella quickly scampered back into her room, just as Pit was by the door, "…and don't bother me anymore now, guys." He said, turned on the doorknob and swung the door open to enter the house.

And Pit was gone, back into Bella's father's house. A glum Zeidrik turned to face his companion who was still perched up the tree and declared, "Well, at least we've tried."

The branches Aleda was caught onto snapped and she fell right onto the ground. She quickly got up, almost uninjured but a bit dizzy. She quickly caught her balance back by leaning to a tree and glared her dazed eyes at Zeidrik. She cried out, "Oh! So we're just gonna give up like that?"

"And do what?" Zeidrik argued to her, "Sabotage Pit's mission? It's not like the greatest idea we can come up with."

And Aleda thought for a second before she said, with a smile to her friend, "Perhaps it could be."

xXx

The next day followed and Pit was once again at Bella's father's table and ate a delicious healthy meal with the small family. After breakfast he put on a fancy white tunic, brown trousers, brown vest and boots and gauntlets. Bella's father even offered him his trusty sword, which he used back in his days of fighting and hunting, but Pit said that he did not need it as he can find a way to defend himself during his adventures. Bella's father respected Pit's offer but Bella however got more suspicious and more convinced that Pit was no ordinary mortal.

So Bella asked her father if she could accompany Pit down to Rome, but her father flat out refused and said, "Bella, you're too young to go to a city ruled by tyranny. You need to stay here and help your father and your fellow neighbors collect water and grow crops so that we shall have foods all season long."

So Bella knew that convincing her father will not do any good. So once Pit was on his way to the city of Rome, Bella decided to follow: by sneaking out when her father was not looking.

Pit was in the forest once again when he heard a noise. He was in the dense part of the forest and the rustling was louder and closer than last night. He looked around and saw a shadow. Convinced that it was Zeidrik and Aleda, he rolled his eyes, shook his head and said, "Just get outta here, guys. I know it's you behind the bushes."

But to Pit's surprise, it was no Zeidrik _or_ Aleda. It was a Keron!

A winged frog with one eye like a Cyclops, the Keron leapt at Pit in attack, tackling him to the ground. Pit grabbed the Keron and struggled with it before it could take a bite out of him. The amphibian continued to struggle with Pit until Pit grabbed one of its wings and with sheer force slammed it to the ground. The creature went down in a splat, with its violet blood spilling everywhere.

Pit quickly shuffled backward, staring at the dead creature and breathing heavily. "What the…! A Keron?"

"HA!"

"Whaa!" Pit jumped, startled by that sudden scream. It was Praus.

"I knew it!" she hissed, eagerly approaching Pit, "You totally aren't from around here are you? That creature you just killed? That wasn't a frog right? That was a _flying_ frog! With one eye! And we mortals do know that flying frogs with one eye don't exist!"

Pit stared back at the dead creature, and then back at Praus; and much to Pit's dismay, she _was_ totally right about flying frogs with one eye not existing in the Mortal Realm. She was onto him. How could he explain their existence, AND keep his identity a secret at the same time? This was going to be rough! So instead he had to lie.

"A frog!" he laughed uproariously, "A frog with one eye! A _flying _frog with one eye! Now wh-wh-why would there be a flying frog with one eye?"

Praus crossed her arms, and with that look in her eyes that says 'Don't lie to me' staring down at Pit, she said to him, "Because I saw you grabbing it by the wings. And its one eye was staring right at you!"

"True!" Pit gulped, "That's… totally true. But like you, I have no idea where does that creature's coming from. Maybe it's a rare breed and…" he immediately changed subject, "Shouldn't you be having breakfast at your father's house and leave me alone?"

"My family has gone fishing." Praus said, "And I'm in charge of collecting baits in the forest." And Praus too changed the subject by returning to the old subject, "And by the way, if you don't know what kind of creature this is, how come you called it by its name, Keron? Who's Keron? And where do they come from? And where do YOU come from? And does Bella know about this? And by the way, where IS Bella? I thought she was with you!"

Pit started getting pressured by all of these questions. And most of these questions he couldn't answer them, because he was not supposed to be revealing his secret identity to mortals. And then Pit wondered what did Bella have to do with this? He then gasped under his breath: did she saw him last night with Zeidrik and Aleda? That could explain so much as to why she was so determined to follow him to—!

And then he stopped thinking… Bella _was _determined to follow him! And she may be anywhere nearby at this moment! "Oh no, Bella!" He quickly turned around and sprinted off back to Bella's father's house, leaving Praus behind.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Praus barked, "I'm not done interrogating you yet!"

Pit reached Bella's father's house, and just as he was about to knock on the door, it swung open and Bella's father stood there, carrying an axe over his shoulder and ready to go. He stared down into Pit's worried eyes and asked sternly, "What are you doing back here, young'un?"

"Is Bella home, sir?" Pit asked the father, glancing over his large shoulder hoping to see the fair girl inside.

"As a matter of fact, you just missed her." Bella's father said with a smile and added, "She's with her friend Praus fishing."

"WHAT?" Pit cried, as he just met Praus and she was asking for Bella. He didn't even say that to her father because he didn't wanted him to worry. So Pit turned on his heels and without another word sped off, leaving Bella's father bewildered.

"You're welcome!" he said.

Pit knew exactly where to go from Bella's father's house and that was straight into the riverbank where the two girls have found him when he landed into the Mortal Realm. But Pit was not a fast runner. He was a fast flyer. Only problem is he didn't have any wings anymore. So now he had to run. And the distance between the river bank and the father's house was about a quarter of an hour than it would've been by wings. The moment Pit reached the riverbank, exhausted and heavily panting from all that running, and sore all over his upper legs, he saw that there was no sign of Bella—or Praus!

"Damnit!" He snapped. He quickly feigned a guilty expression and looked up the skies apologetically, "Sorry, Lady Palutena."

His eyes suddenly went up in sudden realization, "Wait a minute…" he looked up skyward again, "Hey, Lady Palutena! Can you hear me? I need your help!"

"SSHHH!"

Startled Pit turned around and before he knew it, Zeidrik pounced on him again to the ground, his hands over his mouth.

"Don't disturb her." Zeidrik hissed, "It's the goddess' monthly meeting with the Senate today… and DON'T bite my hand this time."

Pit frowned. Zeidrik stood up and tugged his hand toward Pit. Pit grabbed his hand and Zeidrik pulled him up back to his feet.

"Look, Z. If you're trying to persuade me again to abandon my mission—!"

"I'm trying to help you." Zeidrik interrupted, "You say you're looking for this Bella girl, right? She's in the forest. There's a bunch of monsters there after her tail!"

Pit stared, "And you didn't even helped her?" he took off running again past Zeidrik and into the forest. Zeidrik shouted after him, "Hey, I thought you were the man for that type of job, kid!"

Pit vanished into the sea of trees. Once again Aleda appeared in front of Zeidrik like a ghost. "Z. Are you sure this is gonna work?" Aleda looked worried, "He doesn't have any angelic powers anymore."

Zeidrik shrugged, "Maybe." He then turned to face Aleda, "But hey, it's for the best. I hope that bringing back those one-eye froggy freak shows from their Underworld prison didn't gave us a ticket to Medusa's neighborhood. 'Cause trust me honey, I do NOT wanna lose my angelic license for this."

He quickly spotted Pit from a distance, coming back to him at full haste. "Oh quick! Hide!"

"Hide?" Aleda looked around. Besides Zeidrik's back, where will she be hiding? And why would she hide again from Pit? She hissed at him, "Why do you even want me to—!"

Zeidrik shoved her into the shallow river and Aleda went down in a splash. Pit finally reached Zeidrik and was panting heavily from running back and forth. He opened his mouth to speak but was by having difficulty breathing and speaking at the same time. He managed to say to Zeidrik, "I am NOT… I am NOT… running back… and then forth… like that, Z…! Just … Gasp… OH!"

Pit hunched his back and rested his hands on his folding knees.

"Oh-kay." Zeidrik said, almost nonchalantly, "So what do you want me to do?"

Pit glowered at Zeidrik with fury in his eyes, his chest heaving up and down. Zeidrik quickly got the message and with his hands in front of him he said, "Okay, okay. I get it. You want me to teleport you. No need to be hissy about it." He then whispered, "Don't know if my angelic power's gonna work on you but I'll try."

Zeidrik raised his arm skyward and shouted, "_Abolesco!" _and snapped his fingers above Pit. Pit shimmered and turned transparent in a heavenly light. The light briefly forced Zeidrik to shield his eyes until it faded away. Pit was gone.

Zeidrik moved his head over his shoulders and said to Aleda, "Okay, girl. Y'can come out now."

Aleda pulled out of the water, heavily gasping. She too glowered at Zeidrik with fury in her eyes, "You owe me big time for this, Z. Big time."

A shimmering light reappeared in the middle of the forest and was forming back into Pit. Pit looked around the forest, once again searching for Bella when he heard her scream from a distance. And once again he took off running.

He finally stopped, spotting Bella down a narrow hill leading to a swampy section of the forest. She was by a tree, armed with only a twig, swinging at a couple of Keron dancing and flying besides her provocatively. Of course, she was scared and frightened by the appearance of these monsters. He had to save her, he thought, even if it means exposing his secret to the girl. He continued down his destination.

"Get away from me you creep!" Bella cried out, still swinging at the frogs. "Aaaah!"

"HEY!"

A Keron heard Pit yelled, and suddenly felt an arrow going right through its one eye and pinned him to a nearby tree branch. The other Keron looked on alerted, and so did Bella. And that was when Bella saw Pit, couple of feet from where she was, and armed with his trusty bow and arrows.

He stepped in between Bella and the Keron. "Pit?" Bella gasped.

"Don't worry about me, Bella. Just run!"

"Me run?" Bella shook her head, "I'm not running!"

Pit looked at Bella over his shoulder, "What?"

"Watch out, watch out, WATCH OUT!" Bella's warning cry alerted Pit back to his opponents, but too late. A Keron headbutted Pit to the groin. Pit cringed in pain, getting weak to the knees. Bella frowned.

"Oh my gosh, are you all right?"

"Y-yeah…" Pit croaked, "I'll be fine!"

Another Keron seized their chance to pound Pit to the ground, and before long, more Kerons started pounding on the young ex-angel. Bella watched helplessly. "Pit!"

Pit continued to struggle with the pounding Kerons. The monsters were on top of him and restraining him from fighting back.

Bella went on her feet and quickly reached for a loose rope. She tugged on the rope until she felt it attached to something heavy. She looked back at the monsters and Pit and after a brief hesitation she pulled the rope hard.

_Whoosh! _The Keron flew and so did Pit, who got suspended twelve feet above the trees, tied up to a new with a couple of Kerons inside. The rest of the monsters had narrowly escaped, flying off in fright.

Pit looked down and fear took over his entire body just by looking at the drop.

"WHOAA! BELLA!"

"Oops!" Bella said, "So sorry. I thought I'd catch these creatures that way."

Bella let go off the rope and Pit landed back to the ground in a heavy thud. Pit cut the rope with his twin blades and spun in place, slicing off the remaining Kerons and sending them flying. The monsters were no more. Pit was exhausted.

"You all right?" Bella asked him with concern.

Pit glanced back at her briefly, "Am I all right?" he then faced the defeated monsters again and managed to smile, "With that rush I just got, WHOO! I'm on FIRE!"

Bella scowled, her arms crossed over her chest. Pit met her eyes and stopped smiling, "Sorry."

Watching, or rather spying on Pit and Bella from the bowel of the Underworld, via the boiling green river; were a group of dark figures. They grinned, enjoying this spectacle unfolding.

xXx

Moments later Pit and Bella were crossing the forest following that ordeal with the Keron. They were on their way home.

"Hey, thanks for saving me back there, Pit." Bella said to Pit.

"Hey, it's no problem!" Pit said, grinning from ear to ear, "I gotta see that everyone I know and love is being kept from harm. It is my duty to Sky—eee…uhh…"

Pit stopped, stumbling on his words and realizing that he was _this_ close into telling Bella that he was from Skyworld. He then noticed that she wasn't with him. He turned around and saw that she was way behind him. Apparently she was dawdling.

He stopped his paces and asked her, "Hey, what's the hold up?"

Bella gave Pit a questionable frown, "Can I ask you something? Have you ever seen flying frogs with one eye in your life before?"

Pit hesitated again. Here we go again with that question, he thought. The young ex-angel, as we all know, could not bear himself from lying to Bella or to anyone else. But then again, Pit was a terrible liar… his experience with Praus proved it. But then _again_, his identity was at stake here.

"Have you even _seen _a terrible lying—I mean, _flying_ frogs with one eye in _your _life before?" he cautiously replied.

Bella stared back into Pit's deep blue eyes. Pit stared back into Bella's piercing green eyes, but then quickly shied away. Bella, who could easily read people's body language thanks to her father, could sense that Pit was lying. And of course she didn't doubt that one bit. After all she did saw Pit talking to two angels in her father's backyard late last night. And now he was acting as if he's never seen a flying frog with one eye before in his life. The two teens stayed quiet for a while, staring at each other most of the time—actually Bella was doing most of the staring.

Bella then rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I won't go to my father's house." She retorted, changing the subject.

Pit stared back in shock, "What?"

"I won't!" Bella replied, "At least not right now though." She stared back at Pit, "I want to travel with you to the Empire."

"But your father said that could be dangerous!" Pit added. And of course Pit cannot bear himself from lying to Bella's father either. Especially since he helped him up after he landed in the Mortal Realm as a mortal. Of course, he wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for Bella and Praus. "I'm a man of my words. And I say you're heading back into the house."

It was then that Bella said, "All right," obediently.

And Pit blinked, "All right?"

"But if I do go back, you're going to have to tell my father how you've helped me, by using magic to conjure up weapons like that bow and arrow you carry, managed to split them into dual swords, AND fought with monsters the shape of flying frogs with one eye."

"Whaaaat?" Pit laughed, "That's just ridiculous. He won't believe you one bit." And Pit knew that because every one of Bella's stories has been proved false and also ridiculed as the stuffs of fairy tales.

Bella shrugged, "True. But would he believe you Pit, or his daughter…" she snapped her finger on cue, and Praus came in, carrying with her a net of dead Kerons.

"…and her friend with a net of dead flying frogs with one eye?"

Pit stared wordlessly at the net of dead Kerons. He had intended to keep his identity a secret, and now he was busted by Praus' catch of the day. And what a catch THAT was.

"Did I mention that I can catch things too?" Praus grinned.

Bella crossed her arms across her chest, a smirk at the corner of her lips, "Admit it, Pit. You're not a mortal. You're an angel."

Pit looked back at Bella; his face froze in stunned revelation.

"An angel from a distant realm known as Skyworld. Ruled by the almighty goddess Palutena." Bella said, "I can recognize that weapon of yours from ancient mythologies books, you know."

"Yeah. She's brain-smart." Praus said.

There was yet another moment of silence. Pit looked away, shook his head and nervously brushed the side of his hair. Bella and Praus patiently waited.

"We'll take a detour." Pit said finally.

Bella and Praus lit up. "We won't go to your father's house." Pit went on, "We'll just head down to the City of Rome from here."

Praus laughed out loud, "It worked!" as Bella smiled and looked on brightly.

"But don't cheer up just yet!" Pit pointed the finger at the girls, "I don't want you, AND you, to tell ANYBODY of my secret and where I come from. This is just between the three of us. Got it?"

Bella and Praus stared at each other then back at Pit, they moved their fingers across their chests as if making cross, "Cross our hearts…" and then pointed their right hands upward, "and hope to die."

"Your secret's safe with us." Bella said.

Pit smiled back, "Sweet! Looks like this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful adventure!" He then faced Praus, "Oh, and by the way, can you get rid of these creeps? They're grossing me out."

"Oh! Definitely!" Praus picked up the net and single-handedly swung it up sky high. Pit watched in amazement. "Glad I didn't have to deal with that foul odor. Seriously, do these creatures ever bathe?"

Pit laughed, "It's the Underworld. What did you expect? Warm meal and a nice shower?"

The girls laughed and once again the new party was on their way to their new destination: The Roman Empire._  
_

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Roman Empire**


	4. Ep2: The Roman Empire

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 2: The Roman Empire

_…and so it was with great plea from Pit to the pious goddess Palutena that he requested his full leave from the Angel Realm of Skyworld to the Mortal Realm down below, and the goddess Palutena granted him just that._

_Now Pit, no longer an angel or archangel of the Angel Realm of Skyworld, was now a mortal living among all in the Mortal Realm, on a personal mission to make the people revere the name of Pit, the Kid Icarus across all the Realms across this Earthly dimension._

_Alas, this mission for Pit will not turn out quite as simple as he thought. For there will be dangers slithering through his every move, his every path… dangers that are out to destroy him completely…_

xXx

-The Roman Empire. A large, majestic land expanding all Western Europe throughout the Mediterranean Sea in which legislation was ruled with an iron fist, full with autocratic figures and pompous republicans, and the first place Pit came to visit.

Pit has learned aplenty about the Roman Empire as if not from the histories books back at Skyworld, but from his two mortal friends Bella and Praus as well. And from what he has learned from both sources, was that the Roman Empire has taken control of Scottish borders and had stretched over two western rivers where it furthermore conquered Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Israel and Northern Africa amongst many others. The latest country he had recently conquered was what Bella's father spoke fondly of. Olympia.

It was thus a small medieval country known for its richness and abundance of many strange materials unseen across Europe, and strangely, it has never been spotted into geographical maps.

However the discovery of this ancient land and the Empire's actions against it flooded the streets and avenues with hypocrisy of such country, and such hypocrisy were filled with questions like what was it like, or how do people live there. The biggest answer to all was that Olympia was no even settled by humans…

…but by what exactly?

Before Pit could get an answer, his eyes beheld the splendor of the mass buildings and temples and population of bureaucrats and citizens from middle to upper-class status that is… the Roman Empire. And he was amazed.

"Whoaaa!"

Excitedly he ran down the valley into the city, and the girls followed him. They reached the Roman Province, the largest busiest area in Rome. It was there that he heard all those news about Olympia, confirmed by the girls. More, he heard of the tournament that was taking place as well, confirmed by Bella's father.

As they walked down the streets, the girls noticed Pit's amazement in his eyes. It was as if he has never been to a city as grand as Rome before. And so Praus curiously asked unto him, "So tell me, Angel. What's it like back in Skyworld?"

Pit sighed blissfully and said, "It's bliss I tell you. My favorite place is the Palace, where the goddess and all Royal Angels reside."

"There's a palace?" breathed Praus.

"Praus…!" said Bella, "You know there's always a Palace in the Heavens."

"Yeah… but I always thought the heavens were a sea of clouds with lots and lots of gates."

Bella returned to Pit and said, "But Pit… if you're an angel…then how come I don't see any wings on you? How come you're mortal?"

Pit who was walking faster ahead started slowing down his paces; the blissfulness in his eyes began to fade.

"Maybe you're a mortal flesh!" said Praus, "C'mon, show us your wings."

Pit stopped walking altogether. His shoulders sulked. He sighed, this time sadly, and said, "I can't do that."

The girls looked at each other and then back at Pit, whose back was still turned on them, "Why not?" they said unto him.

" 'cause…" paused Pit, "…I was banished here as a mortal."

When the girls heard that they were filled with great amazement and their minds with questions. At that same moment, Pit noticed a tavern. Watching people coming in and getting out of there in full ecstasy and holding cups of clear-yellow water—so he thought—he dashed into it and immediately changing the subject he said, "Is that a pub?"

The girls followed him. Once inside, they saw thousands of men, young old and in-between, causing all sort of raucous ruckus as burping, arm-wrestling, fighting, thrashing, smashing glasses and making promiscuous moves on all sorts of women, in which half of them gladly accepted with their physical appeals. The girls did not like being here as they were very afraid, but Pit… he was very amazed.

"It's like a party here." Pit foolhardily waltzed unto the tavern, and the girls hesitantly followed with their warning.

"Uhh…" Praus quivered.

"I don't think we should be in…!"

Bella's voice got cut off when a chair came flying past Pit and got smashed into a wall besides him. That directed Pit's attention to a sort of lad getting surrounded by a gang of thugs. He wore a dark-blue cotton shirt with collar and lace-up front, brown trousers, belt, and hunter's boots. His hair was as blue as the shiniest sapphire stone and was brushed up high to a pointy peak. His brown eyes, like Pit were full of recklessness and he had that cocky smile on his face.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please…" said the young man with the pointy blue hair to the group of thugs, "Don't hate the player. Hate the game. I told you winner takes all, now didn't I?"

There was a pause between the two thugs. The largest of the thugs snorted.

"Oh." said the young man with the pointy blue hair, "And you owe the bartender a new chair. Yeah."

The large thug grunted and slammed his two palms at the table and closed in on the young man threateningly. That alerted Pit. He summoned his blade and called out the thug, "HEY!"

His shout got the thug's attention and the young man with the pointy blue hair, and soon half of the entire tavern. Pit stepped in, "If you want to deal with someone your petite size, you have to deal with me first."

His threatening words got the tavern whistling some taunting oohs and aahs, and the large thug hated being provoked. But before he even had the chance to speak, the young man with the pointy blue hair said, "Well, if it isn't a meddling kid!" he then faced the thugs and said, "Come on, leave us be. I can take it from here."

The group of thugs grunted and reluctantly took their leave. And the young man with the pointy blue hair stood up and approached Pit.

"My! You have guts, kid." He said before furrowing his brows as if examining him, "and aren't you supposed to be in petite size too?"

"Hey, I just saved your life! So no provocation." warned Pit.

"Nah," the young man with the pointy blue hair said, still having that cocky smile on his face, "You saved no one. You just meddled. Hi. I'm Terren. Future gladiator of the Province, Roman Empire's finest. I was on a winning streak here and you blew it… SO…"

He grabbed onto Pit by the arm and dragged him back to the table, and Bella and Praus who were watching approached them unsuspected.

"…you owe me a drink." Terren said to Pit.

Pit raised an eyebrow, "A drink?"

"More like a bet, Victory's Road, a winning streak, Lady Luck…" Terren over-explained, "See, I never lose. Never. So now HERE'S the deal. _Garcon_?" he snapped his finger twice and a bartender swung over a large cup to his waiter, who then slammed it right in front of Pit. Pit stared at the full liquid in the cup. It was clear-yellow and had bubbling substance on it, like effervescent.

"I bet that you won't stay sober after taking four shots of this deliciousness."

"Uhh…" Pit couldn't stop staring at the drink next to him. He pointed at it and said, "What is that?"

Bella and Praus saw what Pit was being served, and they were very afraid. Much troubled in spirit, they quickly closed in on Pit and Bella cried unto him in loud begging tone, "Pit! What are you doing? You can't drink this! That's beer!"

"Beer?" Pit repeated.

"Yeah! What she said!" Praus hissed, "I heard it's baaaaad for you!"

Terren finally noticed the girls and he said to Bella, "Uhh… Girl Child." and then said to Praus, "…and little Girl Child, let the man in here show me business!" he gladly patted Pit's shoulder, and Pit looked very puzzled. The tavern quickly got all excited at what was going to happen and they begun cheering.

"Ugh… excuse me?" Praus glared at Terren, one hand on one hip, "Who are you calling child?"

"Uhh… you." Terren said to Praus before facing Pit again, "…come on, boy. Help me out here and lose this bet for me."

"I'm not losing a bet for you." Pit said vehemently and the whole gang in the tavern once again shot out more provocative oohs and aahs. Pit grabbed the clear cup of liquid to the girls' dismay and said to Terren with _his _cocky smile on his, "It's on."

And the tavern went wild. Pit chugged down the entire liquid in one gulp and slammed the cup down to everyone's amazement. But Terren was not amazed. He ordered from _garcon_ more of that thing Pit now knew as beer, and Pit chugged down some more. Pit didn't know how many of that beer he drank down but it was way too much that he got bloated… yet he stayed sober.

Terren was shocked from head to toe after Pit wiped down his fourteenth drink and still could see clear as day. Bella and Praus couldn't be more impressed.

"WHOO!" Pit cheered and so did the entire tavern. But Terren was mad. Pit cheerfully gloated at him, "I don't know about you but I'm in Heaven…." He paused, "…and I know where Heaven is."

Terren slammed a fist to the table. And Pit, Bella and Praus were cheering once more. And thereupon was a lanky, tan figure with red and dirty hair, watching all this event unfolding behind hidden walls. His blue eyes were watching Pit menacingly and his sharp teeth mustered an evil smile. Swooping his tattered gray-blue toga and scarf over himself to form a hooded cloth, he hid from the public eye and took off. It was thereupon that Pit saw him leave, and he got curious.

The dark figure walked past a growing crowd of people underneath a scorching sunny day. He noticed the population was getting fuller and fuller by the second. Wherefore it was the perfect way to blend into it and to avoid suspicion. Yes, _perfect_ way to _avoid_ suspicion as he did not suspect yet another figure in a red hooded cloth brushing right past him. The hooded figure paused, took notice of the mysterious man, and then was on his way again into the Coliseum, which was a couple of blocks from the tavern.

The first dark figure found yet _another_ dark figure hidden in hooded cloth by the corner of the Province, and he came thither.

"Did you find him?" the second dark figure spoke with a heightened yet deep voice that sounded feminine but with an attitude.

The first figure finally removed his cloth over his head to reveal himself before the second cloaked figure, "What do you think?" he said, his blue eyes fixated on his mysterious guest. "Now how much do you owe me? Anything below 100 gold 50 silver and 10 bronze coins total is unacceptable."

The womanly figure spun on her heels, looking away from her mysterious messenger, "I owe you nothing."

"Okay, that is unacceptable too."

"...until he enters the Tournament, you won't get a penny." she paused before she slowly stepped out of hiding to reveal herself to the figure. Her purple eyes met his blue ones. They were stern and pessimistic, however full of revenge. She donned a black tunic with violet outlines, and sported brown sandals. Her dark brown curly hair fell to about her shoulders, and she too revealed her wings. As black as the midnight sky.

"Seems even angels don't get a break huh, Acario?" she smiled, spun on her heels and walked away from the first figure she bear the name Acario.

Acario made a frown. He loosened his cloaking toga to free his gray-red wings from its tight fabric. He stretched a bit and frowned, "Easy for you to say." he sneered, "You're an angel too, and yet you get everything you want, now what's up with that?"

xXx

Back at the tavern,

"Okay kid? How about two out of three?"

"Or twenty out of thirty." Bella frustratingly sighed. Apparently, Terren and Pit have been going at it for as long as they could remember.

Pit sighed also. He was getting tired and bloated from all that drinks he was chugging down his throat. And his large stomach showed, "Are you for real?"

"As real as my 20-year dead uncle!" Terren slammed down yet another full cup of the beer.

"Change of deal: I bet you will revoke all that you have consumed into your stomach AFTER this large drink." Terren pushed the beer cup closer to Pit.

Pit stared at it then back at Terren and said, "Revoke?"

"He means vomit." clarified Praus.

"Well I do feel like vomiting." mumbled Pit, feeling dizzy.

"And I'm not getting any younger you know?" added Terren, "I need to get my foot into the Roman Tournament and my foot into that tournament I shall get my foot into!"

"What?" gasped Bella.

"Is that why you're torturing this poor little kid, Terry boy?"

Half the tavern turned toward a large, light-skinned but heavy-built scruffy-looking feller who just spoke to Terren. He carried a large axe over his right shoulder that sported a coyote skin hide. The skin hide was also covering his waist area; only pieces of cloth he wore as he was bare-chested and had faded scars all over, showing years of fighting. His red hair was styled as a Mohawk and big black eyes. He looked like the typical bandit looking for trouble.

Of course he wasn't alone, as he was at the company of a young lady besides him. She had long golden hair in a loose style with very driven green eyes, and a light cotton tunic and trousers ensemble of chestnut color. She was armed with bow and quiver on her back and a katana to her waist.

"Causing more trouble are you, Terren?" the young girl said to Terren.

Terren closed his eyes, sighed, and chuckled, "Balthazar! Ventus!" he turned to face his two unexpected guests, "And here I thought the Tavernmaster was coming here to kick me out but there you are! Lo and behold."

"You do realize that anyone can enter into the tournament free of charge, right?" Ventus, the young lady armed with the bow-and-arrow informed; and when Bella, Praus, and Pit heard this, they were shocked.

"So long as you are of royal blood and of high-class status, registration is free. And as for the latter, you simply register till all listings are full." And Bella, Praus and Pit were twice as shocked when they heard that.

But Terren, as stubborn as he was, wouldn't listen, "Blah-blah-blah, what do you think I'm doing? I know all that." he then turned to face Pit again, "I'm just tryin' to milk all the gold, silver and bronze out of that royal kid here so that he can make myself royal and get my foot to the tournament easy. I know it, he knows it. He refuse to get drunk... so we got a new deal now, ain't that right kid? After this drink," he pushed the beer cup closer to Pit till it slightly touched his arm, "You choke and I get it all."

Pit stared at the beer cup, and then back at Terren, still in shock, "You tricked me!" he said to Terren.

"Now, now! Let's not point fingers here. I'm just tryin' to help m'self out in this dire situation. Do you know how lucky royal runts like you are, to partake on the tournament without having to deal with the listings or the heavy crowd of people _tryin' _to get to the listings? Been there, done that, don't wanna go—!"

Pit grabbed his beer cup, leaned over the table toward Terren and lo! He poured the fizzy liquid right onto Terren's crotch area, soaking up his trousers. The cheerful socializing of the tavern came into a screeching halt when the first couple of faces from the crowd, to a handful more, and finally the last groups turned to them. Dead silence.

Pit placed his cup back on the table, its clacking sound—now the only sound being heard across the tavern—resonated.

"There." he broke the silence, "I revoked my drink. As you promised."

Couple of oohs and aahs resounded in the tavern. Terren moved his eyes away from his crotch to stare at Pit's blue cheerful eyes.

"So... what do I owe you, Terren?" Pit paused, "...or should I call you Terry?"

"You owe me a new pair of pants!" Terren grabbed the empty cup and with his good arm whereupon swung it at Pit. Pit deftly dodged the cup and watched it traveled right onto another heavy-built bandit's head. It landed into pieces. The tavern gasped.

The bandit glowered at Terren and Pit, who appeared nervous, grabbed a large bottle of beer and propelled it right into Balthazar's face, knocking him out. More oohs, aahs, and couple of laughter resonated into the tavern. Balthazar bled between his eyes and nose.

"Oh, now you got a new scar to cherish, Balthie!" Terren laughed.

Balthazar slowly stood up, eyes glowering like a cat on a prowl, "Oh, it's OOOHN, Terren! I'M GONNA KILL YOOOU!"

Balthazar swung his axe down on the table, shattering the table into pieces and almost slashing Terren in two. But Both Terren and Pit got out of the way. Splinters and wood pieces went flying across the tavern, prompting it to explode once again with ruthless cheers and cries, this time instead of the sound of socializing, it was of fighting. Beer bottles, and cups, and even flying weapons like axes and arrows went flying across the place. And luckily for Bella and Praus, they got out of the tavern before it got ugly.

But Bella did not feel right leaving Pit behind. "We gotta get Pit outta there!"

Praus tugged on Bella's arm hard enough to stop her from taking another step and said unto her, "Are you crazy, woman? It's mass massacre in there! It's too dangerous for us! And besides, Pit is an angel. He'll be fine!"

"Fine?" Bella snapped at Praus, "Maybe you haven't heard Pit earlier, but in case you have, let me refresh your memory. Oh yeah... what did he say earlier? Yeah... he said HE'S A MORTAL NOW!"

And Praus said, "Oh..."

The tavern door crashed before the two girls, and soon caught the street's attention. All heads turned to Pit and Terren, out into the streets, on the ground barely escaping the place with little to mild bruises and scars. A heavy thug came out of the tavern as well and with a large wooden beer crate, he raised it up right above Pit and Terren and shouted, "RRRAAAAAAAAWWWRR!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Ventus jumped right onto the large thug and with her sheer strength pulled the thug back into the tavern for more fighting. The thug let go of the crate before he disappeared into the violent tavern, Pit and Terren quickly shuffled out of the way to watch the crate landing to the street ground in a massive crash.

"Man, humans are savage!" Pit gasped.

Terren stared back at Pit, "You think?"

Pit stood up and quickly brushed off the sands from his outfit. He then stretched his hand toward Terren, and Terren grabbed his hand and Pit pulled him up.

"Now thanks to you, I'm not gonna be welcomed into the tavern again! Thanks a lot, kid!" Terren said, "You owe me big time."

Pit rolled his eyes, "Oh, quit talking like the swindler. You're lucky I don't owe you your life… literally."

"Pit! You're all right?" Bella said to Pit as she and Praus approached him.

"Pit?" Terren repeated before staring back at Pit in stunned revelation, "You carry the name Pit?"

Pit stood still once more. If Terren was suspicious of his name, it could mean one thing: he knows his secret. How did he spilled it, he doesn't know.

"What's wrong with the name Pit?" Praus sounded offended.

"Well, for starters, it's the name of a fairy tales bird boy..." said Terren.

"HEEY!" Pit snapped, but Terren went on, "...and according to that fairy tale, he defeated that demonness Medusa. Which I don't believe a s—!"

"So what's going on here?"

Pit, Bella, Praus, and Terren heard an urban cohort coming by, and when they saw him, he was coming with at least five of his cohort units. Pit noticed that the mortals turned nervous at their presence, and so he immediately assumed the cohorts were law enforcers here in Rome.

"Officer. Sir." Bella grinned, "See, there's really nothing to worry ab—!"

"You." The general cohort pointed his finger at Terren and approached, "Do you mind telling us what's going on here? And what were you doing in the tavern..." he then stared at Pit, "...with a kid?"

There was uneasy silence among the mortals and Pit. Terren looked back at Pit, then at the two girls before facing the soldiers. He tried to speak, but all he could do was to stammer.

"...it was my fault. Really, officer." Pit said to the cohort, "See, I hail from a kingdom not far from Rome. And this guy, my royal _ward,_" he articulatedat Terren, "tried to recruit a couple of information from the tavern regarding the Roman Tournament by my orders. But alas... we ended up making things worse. Hence, the fighting."

The cohort moved to face the girls, then Terren, and then returned to Pit. He smiled, "Well, you should have come to us on this matter, young man. The tavern is full of criminals and lowlife jerks whom the Emperor vows to decollate _sur-le-champ, _should they ever do anything stupid like swindling from the foreign bourgeois like you."

"Really?" Pit stared back at Terren on cue, as if exchanging a close call warning, "You don't say..." Terren shrugged. Bella and Praus couldn't help but stifle.

"Yaar. It is true." The cohort replied, "Well, the Coliseum is a couple of blocks from the tavern." he then pointed over Pit, "If you travel this way, you will not miss it."

"Your contribution is truly appreciated." Pit said, "Thank you sir."

"Anytime." the cohort said before leading his troops further down the street. Terren let out a deep breath before turning to Pit, "What did you just do?"

"Saved your butt." Pit replied, before facing the girls questionably, "Why? Is that legal?"

The girls nodded.

"I didn't need rescuing." Terren said, "Not from a runt like you."

Pit crossed his arms, "Really? You'd prefer that I let those cohorts execute you for what you did to me?"

Terren said nothing.

"So, here's the new deal: join me in the tournament, and I won't tell these cohorts of your crimes. Now how does that sounds?"

Terren loured. He'd prefer that he continued stealing from the royals just to get his foot into the tournament, rather than get into the tournament with a royal brat and his two girl companions. But because it was a deal—which he was ashamed to take—he went for it.

"Fine." Terren said, "But I get to touch the Avalon. Or no deal." and he was off. The two girls didn't hesitate to go after Terren, "Hey! What do you mean YOU get to touch the Avalon?" Praus shouted in warning.

Pit had stopped walking when Terren mentioned the Avalon. It was the same Avalon that Palutena warned Pit about. And the same Avalon that Bella's father deemed it a family treasure from the land of Olympia. Could this enchanted relic that humans adore be the same dark token that the goddess of Light fears the most?

And once again, her pious words rang in his mind.

_Beware of the Avalon. Despite its magnificent attire, you must flee from it, like a forbidden fruit_.

And like a forbidden fruit, Pit suddenly felt the urge... to see it!

* * *

**Next Chapter: Tournaments**


	5. Ep3: Tournament

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 3: Tournament

_…and so it was with great plea from Pit to the pious goddess Palutena that he requested his full leave from the Angel Realm of Skyworld to the Mortal Realm down below, and the goddess Palutena granted him just that._

_Now Pit, no longer an angel or archangel of the Angel Realm of Skyworld, was now a mortal living among all in the Mortal Realm, on a personal mission to make the people revere the name of Pit, the Kid Icarus across all the Realms across this Earthly dimension._

_Alas, this mission for Pit will not turn out quite as simple as he thought. For there will be dangers slithering through his every move, his every path… dangers that are out to destroy him completely…_

xXx

-There was a great multitude of noblemen and sellswords camping out by the Colosseum on the day of the Roman Tournaments, that it was as if the entire world has descended upon the empire. Latecomers only ended up in traffic full of other latecomers; and each and every one of them pressed on, hoping to get enlisted into the tournament.

Luckily for all of noble bloods, the empire's archbishop has proclaimed that all of them would easily partake in the tournament without any special listing. Sellswords and ruffians however would have to input their information upon the listings. Any figures with a record of criminal conduct would not partake in the tournament, even if their records were cleared up.

Fair Princess of Rome Gwenifer tried to squeeze past the multitude of tournament hopefuls, her green serene eyes peering across her surroundings in haste. She looked enchantingly beautiful in her satin Athenian gown with gold trim by the waist and shoulder, and a veil attached to her gold circlet adorning her wavy light-blonde hair gracefully floating about the calm wind.

She may appear beautiful, but she also appeared to be in distress. Apparently she was looking for her father, the Emperor. And he was nowhere to be seen.

"Father, where have you gone now?" she muttered to herself.

She reached an opening leading down a hallway. Her mind was not truly on finding her father per se; it was more troubled by the tournament grand prize. See, Gwenifer's father wanted to find her a suitor and knew she was ready. Thus the announcement that the entire country of Europe to take part of the tournament for the chance to win her a suitor: her delicate hand in holy matrimony was the ultimate arrangement. The Tournament's prize, one would assert.

But she was not willing to go for it. As much as she loathed the idea of becoming the ultimate prize possession of the Empire's National Tournament, she actually found herself a suitor. To her eyes, he was the one. They met and fell in love at first sight. But once the Empire took control of the Kingdom of Olympia up north, she never met her suitor again. Today marks the 34th day since their first meet and she still could not stop thinking about him.

xXx

Back at the arena registration hall, people kept on pushing and shoving each other, disrupting what could have been a fine line from the border of the empire to the table full of forms to fill out and be qualified for the tournament. The nobles, as pointed out, got free entries and simply past right by the table full of forms and down the hallway behind it by the Imperial Officer's approval. Some sellswords tried to pass on as these nobles simply by going around, but they were either caught or sent back in line, or were escorted back to the nearest prison whenever they have turned violent.

Pit was with Terren on the line. Bella and Praus were not with them. In Rome it was customary for men, young and old, to partake in a tournament of brute strength. Women were not allowed to take entry, nor be on the line, even for support. And Pit did not know this.

But Pit did not know either that two of his shifty angel comrades were in Rome as well: Zeidrik and Aleda. Aleda was next to Pit. Zeidrik however was not with them. Pit knew Aleda was there but could not communicate with her for she was an angel and angels were usually invisible to mortals. And if Pit was to talk to her, he would be deemed insane. And an insane person in Rome is severely punished.

"I can't believe we're to marry a princess!" Terren said unto Pit, picturing himself already winner of the tournament, "I didn't even know Gwenifer was a princess."

"You've met her before?" Pit asked him.

"Once." recalled Terren, "On a drunken night. She was an exquisite beauty. She actually escorted me back to an abode. She's unlike most ladies I've seen at the tavern. Today marks the 34th day of our first meet."

"I'm sure she must have forgotten all about you." Aleda joked, only to have Pit elbowed her on the chest, causing her to double over.

"You say somethin'?" Terren asked, and Pit shook his head, "Nothin'."

A young lady was passing by. She donned a black tunic with violet outlines, and sported brown sandals. Her dark brown curly hair fell to about her shoulders. Her purple eyes looked sharp. It was the same young woman angel who spoke to the angel Acario before, and apparently she didn't see the group, or mind their attention. But she did caught the attention of Terren as she passed right by him and he was enamored.

"Whoa. Forget the queen." He grinned, "Who's the beauty? H-a-amina! H-a-amina! Ha-a-amina!"

Pit also noticed her. So did Aleda. And Pit, knowing the tournament's rules of no women on the coliseum hall, said unto Aleda, "Is she not supposed to be here?"

But Aleda said something unto Pit that made him looked at her with his blue eyes filled with worry and curiosity. She said, "She's not supposed to be alive."

The mysterious girl—the girl with the purple eye and dark-brown hair—picked up a feathered quill pen. She knew Pit was watching him. But she also knows she's been watching him for quite some time. She sneaked a peek at him, and with her right fingers pinching onto the quill, she slowly scribbled down her name: Ebony.

"HEY!"

She heard a loud bark behind her. She sighed frustratingly, slowly dropped the quill and turned to face the irritated person who just spoke. It was Balthazar. He now had a fresh scar between his eyes and nose from the fighting at the tavern couple of days past.

"What are you doing here, entering in the tournament? This is boys only, y'know?" he said unto her.

And Ebony said unto him with her delicate tone of voice, "If you are trying to call me a lesbian…"

"OHH! No, no, no, no, no, no, no." the large man interrupted her, shaking his head, "We're just saying that this is an all-men tournament. Me and my pal here!" the heavy man pointed at his companion, Ventus.

"Don't drag me in your mess, Balthazar." She said before facing Ebony, "Forgive my ever-mindless turd of a man. I am called Ventus. And you are…?"

"…just want to settle a score with someone who's entering." Ebony said unto them, before her gaze fixated onto Pit once again. She smiled, "…and I think I just found him."

Balthazar and Ventus turned to face the group Ebony was staring at as well, and Balthazar fixated his eyes onto Terren. And with a hearty laugh he said, "Oh-ho! Trying to settle a score on Terren, are ya? You ain't the only one, sister! See what he did to my face?" he pointed at his new scar, "He's gonna have a lot of that in his body by tournaments' end. Trust me."

"Mm…" was all that Ebony could utter. She then turned to face Ventus and said, "By the way… Ventus… doesn't it sound like you may be part of the lesbo yourself?"

And Ventus was already seeing red. Ventus was just about to let out a ferocious squawk at her and made a scene by swiping her on the table full of forms like a ragged tablecloth when Ebony walked away without even finishing her form.

"Hey!" Balthazar called out to the gal, waving the incomplete form, "you forgot this!" But she didn't bother to respond or look back.

"Ignore her." Ventus said bitterly, "Once I see her again, I'll make sure she eats her words."

xXx

Gwenifer was still crossing through the crowd of people when she stopped dead in her tracks. She saw a figure in a red hooded cloth. The figure who brushed past Acario couple of days ago. He was staring right at her, and she became afraid. She stepped back into the mass crowd and quickly began to walk away from the figure. The figure started to follow her. It didn't take long for him to catch up to the fair princess. He grabbed her by the arm, and she was about to scream when he put his hand over his mouth and said, "Shh… I'm not here to hurt you."

"What?" she whimpered.

"I came to see you…" The figure slowly moved his hand away from the princess. The princess frowned. She noticed the figure's grasp on her arm and it wasn't the grasp of someone who was on a mission to hurt the princess, but the grasp of someone desperate to see her.

She moved in close to the dark figure in red and was about to move the cloak off his face when he quickly moved it back in place and said, "Not here. It is too risky."

She heard the figure's voice and she smiled, "Oh, dear merciful heavens. It is you." She looked around to see if no one was watching among the ignorant crowd, and then turned back to the figure, "I thought I would never see you again."

"And I too," spoke the figure, "Today marks the 34th day since we've first met."

"And the invasion ruined our second meet." The princess said, shaking her head, "I must apologize on behalf of my father. He does not know what he is doing."

The figure shook his head, "I respect the man, and I respect you, my love. But I cannot reassure you that he will come back to his senses. Power has corrupted him, and he is never going to change again… unless something disrupts his ruleship."

xXx

The Colosseum soon got filled with a huge gathering of people assembled together to witness that noble contest of brute strength between all warriors of all classes: nobles and sellswords. The assembly on the Colosseum was well over a million people—men, women, and kids of all classes. And these people sat so close together, there were little to no space for legs and arms to move freely.

The arena itself was huge, spanning across hundred feet of sands and solid rocks waiting to be soiled by the sweat, tears, and blood of the tournament's brutal gladiators.

And there were an assembly of thrones perched above the crowding court, with one high throne sitting in the middle, fancied of red velvet fabric fit for the Emperor (who was still nowhere to be found) Urban cohorts and imperial Templars were on watch as well, so that security could be enforced in the Colosseum.

The Archbishop made his appearance, donning a fancy white garb with gold trim, and a large pointy bishop hat with a gold cross on it. He appeared wise, yet frail with his long white beard and curly hair falling down past his shoulders. He raised his six feet staff of gold antique, bringing silence onto the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen. It is time for the Great Roman Tournament." He said unto the people, and their shouts and cheers once again filled the air.

xXx

The Emperor of Rome, Pilaf, was not missing. He was actually in the Colosseum, standing by long hallways spanning across both sides and untraveled by many for years. He looked over the sea of people, entertained by the tournament and he smiled. Sporting a crusader cloak and tunic with red trims and sash, sandals, and gold cuffs that goes from his wrist to his hand, Pilaf recently took over the Empire's Throne following the death of the last Emperor, whom many deemed to be ruthless. But Pilaf was no exception. Pilaf had a calm, cold personality and never took no for an answer. So people had to take conformity of his actions. Heck, they had to watch as the Empire invaded Olympia on his watch, and had to enjoy the tournament which featured the brutality of all contenders, including death. After all, all tournaments in Rome were fights to the death.

His green wrinkly eyes peered from his left corner to see three guards standing there.

"What?" he said coldly to the guards.

"The people are ready for you." The first guard said.

He spun on his heels, "And how is that my problem?"

The guards hesitated. They exchanged glances and another guard spoke, "Well… you are lord, Pilaf."

"And the people cannot start the Tournament without your presence." The third guard added.

With a pinkie finger he cleaned out his right ear and winced at the three soldiers, "I'm sorry. I didn't quite get that." He glared at the second guard, "Did you just said, you are lord?"

"Uhh… yes, lord." The guard said.

Pilaf stared, "You." He said again. "As in _you _are lord?"

"Y-yes… I mean…" the guard hesitated some more, upon noticing a frightening transition in Pilaf's calm expression. The others soldiers looked on worryingly, "…n-no…I mean, you, Emperor Pilaf. As in _you _are lord. Not… me… no me… I am merely a pawn at your service."

Pilaf's wrinkled face relaxed and laughed heartily. He said to the soldier, "I applaud your enthusiastic, peasant. I may be new to the throne, but should you acknowledge me as lord and lord only on this earth and all galaxies, you shall be greatly rewarded."

The soldiers nodded.

"Now, take me to my throne." He commanded. And the soldiers obeyed. As they were walking, a magical seal began to fade-in before them, and shot out an aura down on it. Pilaf stopped dead on his tracks as he witnessed a figure forming before him. The soldiers pulled out their lances and pointed at the figure. It was a tall figure sporting a dark-red toga, a black cloak floating beside him like a cape and sandals. He had a scar across his bare muscular chest and sported a broadsword on his waist. The figure donned a snake mask, his brown eyes from within the mask stared deep into the Emperor's green eyes. The most striking feature about the figure was that he sported red wings. He too was an angel.

"Enjoying your days of ruleship, Emperor?" the masked man spoke.

"You…" Pilaf stared at him, dumbfounded. "…but you're…!"

"Now ladies and gentlemen," spoke the archbishop gloriously to the mass crowd of spectators watching the thousand of new tournament's participants coming into the arena, forming rows and columns of lines, "it is time for the Roman National Anth—!"

"HOLD IT right there, Emperor." The masked man pointed a finger at the archbishop, his voice ripped through the sky like a god.

Everyone had turned their attention from the festivities of the tournament to the emperor and his guards. Even the archbishop.

"Lord Pilaf, what is it?" spoke the Archbishop, but the Emperor was not speaking.

"I should be the one to bring out the national anthem, Archbishop." The masked man said harshly to the archbishop, his voice still sending chills down the mass audience. They knew that voice. And exchanging words to one another, they were very afraid.

"That masked man…" Pilaf said sternly, still staring at his opponent before him, "…it is the Old Emperor. Lord Durand."

Back outside the Colosseum, Gwenifer felt distasted by the words of her love on her father, and she asserted that unto him, "I must disagree with you my Love, that my Father, though he does a lot of selfish deeds, is not as corrupted of a man as he is."

And sternly he responded, "Not corrupted?" Shaking his head, he then added, "Gwen. His army invaded my country under his name. He invaded Olympia. And it is not inhabited by humans like you. He slaughtered the Royal family and robbed them of their Beloved Family Treasure. And we know based on its dark history what the Avalon is capable of. So unto me, his actions are corrupted."

The fair princess was still in denial. She was about to add more to her argument and defense when, "Your Majesty!"

She heard the voice of a soldier calling out to her nearby. She turned to his attention briefly, but then turned back again quickly to see that his lover was gone... as if by magic.

"Your Majesty!" the soldier finally reached Gwenifer, "You have to come quick."

"What? What is it?" she asked the soldier, a look of concern filled her eyes.

"It's your father! Something's happening! Come quick!" the soldier yanked the princess' arm and dragged her to the setting. The princess trailed behind.

Back at the Colosseum,

"Lord?" The archbishop said to Pilaf and quickly followed his gaze to see that Old Emperor. He was staring right at him: the wings expanded, the cold glare staring back at the fearful emperor… but all the archbishop saw was right _through_ him. He saw nothing but empty air. The eyes of all spectators felt the same way. The Archbishop turned back to Pilaf and said unto him, "Lord, what are you saying? What is going on here? Is the Old Emperor… is he…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Durand laughed at Pilaf, "I forgot your people can't see me!" his laughter formed back into a frowning look under the snake mask, "…but I can." He looked over the mass audience, and once again with his booming, godly voice, declared, "YES, PEOPLE OF ROME. IT IS I, YOUR OLD EMPEROR. FEAR ME FOR I AM TAKING OVER THIS TOURNAMENT!"

The crowd obviously did not see Durand with their own eyes, but they had definitely heard him. To them he spoke like a god! And they were very afraid. They begun to exchange words of sorrow, cries for forgiveness, as if the end was nigh… but Pit who was within the crowd of contenders knew exactly what was happening.

"Durand." He whispered his name.

"What?" Terren barely heard him. "You know that old coot?"

Pit hesitated, "…well… yeah…!" he said, "Isn't he the Old Emperor?"

"…true." Terren muttered.

Pit knew Durand, but not as the Old Emperor of Rome, but as an enemy from the Underworld Army, apart from Medusa and many others.

The Emperor Pilaf narrowed his eyes at the Old Emperor, "What in the name of the Underworld are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Durand replied, "I'm getting back what is rightfully mine."

"In your dreams." Pilaf sneered, "Begone from my sight, darkness. Or you shall regret the day you became a spirit!"

"Yeah. That's not going to happen. You see, you signed a contract." Durand said to the Emperor, "And in the contract, you abided by the condition that as long as the Underworld Army roams free into this Mortal Realm, I will take over my High Throne of Rome beginning with this tournament."

And the crowd gasped.

"You take of a simple mindless comment as a contract?"

"Words _can_ be powerful, Emperor."

"You're wrong, Old Emperor!" shouted Gwenifer. She had finally reached the Colosseum to watch the event unfolding, "Father would NEVER do such thing! He is not corrupted like many of you think!"

"Uh-uh, yeah sure…" The Old Emperor smirked, "feast your eyes, mortals of the Realm, and quiver." He removed the snake mask from his face and he turned visible before the entire Roman Colosseum. Everyone finally saw him! His black hair long and resting on his shoulders was seen, his brown eyes were seen… even his angelic stature was also seen. And that winged appearance was what caused people to express woes and fears: the New Emperor allied with the Old Emperor and his Underworld Army!

"Yes. You've all seen it. I am a fallen angel. An angel of darkness." Durand the Old Emperor said to the mass, "And first order of business is this: all men, women, and even children are eligible to compete in the tournament. Second rule: beat the finals and you shall face a battle against me. Defeat me, and you shall get your princess as the prize… defeat me and you shall be crowned Commander of the Roman Empire… defeat me, and you shall all and all, take possession of the magnificent Avalon!"

"And finally…" the Old Emperor snapped his fingers, and the skies opened up, shooting out dark rays of light from above, and before the entire Colosseum, the arena, and the contenders, there were monsters. Monsters from the underworld army, drooling and growling for blood: there were a bunch of Monoeyes, Micks, and a whole lot of Hellhounds.

"…you shall defeat the monsters. And each other."

And the crowd once again filled the air with more cries and woes, as Underworld army monsters roamed around the contenders, cornering them. The contenders pulled out their weapons and posed for combat. And so did Pit and Terren.

"Underworld army…?" Pit gasped, "What's got into Rome?"

"Power has apparently corrupted their minds." Aleda said to him.

"This…is…sweet!" Terren said, daydreaming, "You get wed and get respected? Women would woo over me"

Aleda landed a hard pound on Terren's head, knocking him back to reality. "OW!" he stared angrily at Pit, "What did you—?"

"This is NO time to be dreaming about prizes!" Pit reminded him of the reality they were facing right now, "Look at the monsters before us! MONSTERS!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Old Emperor spoke again, "Did I NOT mention that ALL men, women and kids were eligible too?"

Before everyone knew it, people watched citizens—innocent bystanders from the crowd—being flung over to the arena by Imperial soldiers, who were apparently possessed by the Old Emperor. Screams of agony rendered the air as the Underworld army monsters began to unleash their fury onto them on the arena. Pilaf had to stand there and watch.

Some Monoeyes charged at some of the contenders, tackling them down. They quickly recovered, took arms and swung at the assaulting monsters. Pit and Aleda stood back-to-back. Pit attacked, striking the enemies. Aleda summoned out her orbitars and assaulted the incoming Micks and Monoeyes. But some Micks managed to dodge her attacks and with their massive tongues swung at her sending her flying. She broke her fall and shot more of her orbitars at them. Terren swung his sword at the Hellhounds, offing their heads and stabbing them on their sides. He turned around and a Hellhound pounded him to the ground. The hellhound started barking, closing its clapping jaws at him, and Terren fought to break free from its ferocious bite. But then the hellhound yelped in pain as a huge axe from Balthazar nailed him to the side, sending him flying. Balthazar pounded on his chest ferociously.

Ventus ran through more Hellhounds, striking them with her katana. But then the flying Monoeyes flew above her, distracting her. She quickly pulled out her bow and arrow and started shooting them in their eyes. More contenders helped out the heroes with their weapons. Axes and swords flew across the arena. Their clashing sound resonated with every strike. Hellhounds and Monoeyes flew across the arena, defeated. But it was the number of defeated contenders, along with innocent bystanders—whose ribs were torn apart, and whose heads were seen flying across the arena—that were the majority of casualties in the arena.

Couple of Hellhounds landed to the ground defeated in front of Pit. It was at that moment that Pit looked up and saw Ebony, staring straight at him. She smiled.

"WATCH OUT!" Pit cried out to her upon witnessing a Hellhound pouncing from behind her. Ebony suddenly vanished to his eyes, and the Hellhound landed on the ground. Then the Hellhound yelped in pain as its stomach slew open by an invisible force. Blood gushed out of him, spilling and staining every sand on the arena. And Pit saw the Hellhound died.

"…magic." He gasped.

"HEELP!"

Pit looked up and watched the Imperial soldiers shoving the innocent citizens crying out for help into the arena of death. He saw Bella and Praus, among the populace. They were being pushed off the ledge, but the two girls struggled for survival.

"BELLA! PRAUS!" Pit cried out. He could have flown straight into the menacing soldiers, knocked them out, and rescued Bella and Praus. But he didn't have any wings anymore as he was mortal. So once again he had to run. He ran and ran and ran, dodging and knocking apart every Monoeyes, Micks, and Hellhounds standing in the way. He wasn't even close to the corner of the arena when the soldiers successfully shoved the two girls off the ledge. He froze, watching them descend into their death…

…but then he saw Zeidrik! He flew straight to the girls and grabbed them with his mighty hands. Of course, Zeidrik was an angel, and mortals could not see him. He moved the two girls behind him and pulled out his twin blades. With couple of swings off his blade he shot out crescent shaped projectiles at the approaching monsters, knocking them out.

"Don't worry, Pit. I got this!" he shouted out to Pit. And Pit was relieved that Zeidrik was there. He returned to the mass battle. More contenders attacked the monsters. More monsters attacked the contenders. More citizens were being pushed into their death, and the Emperor Pilaf had no choice but to see his people at the mercy of the Old Emperor.

"For as long as I rein this Empire, your people will still suffer," spoke Durand, catching his attention, "However, should you seek to destroy me, you should destroy yet another angel. He is a seal to your everlasting victory. The one responsible for my uprising in Rome." he then looked over the arena full of brutality, "He stands right among the populace, posing... as a Mortal."

The Emperor stood silent. Gwenifer stared back at her father, worried about what he was going to say.

"Another angel..." she whimpered, shaking her head, "Father, please..."

"I shall find this angel." Pilaf said boldly. "And I shall descend justice upon his weary angelic head."

"The goddess will not allow that—!" Gwenifer cried out, "...Attacking her people! Haven't you done enough?"

"The goddess is not lord!" he exploded, "I am lord! And lord only." he then faced Durand again, "Not you. Not Palutena. Definitely not Medusa or Zeus. _I!_ …am lord."

He looked over the populace again, "and as lord, anyone who defies me shall pay dearly… especially that angel."

* * *

**Next Chapter: Avalon**


	6. Ep4: Avalon

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

**Author's Note: **After a long summer (and also with the Summer of Tournaments event ended), KI Returns is back with new episodes!

But first and foremost, I've struggled a lot with this chapter due to major writer's block. So it's not just the summer fever that caused the delay, it was writer's block also. But despite the effort, I made it through and I'm back with more of Pit's adventures. So fear not, I ain't going ANYWHERE unlike all other incomplete Kid Icarus fanfics.

And speaking of Kid Icarus, there's been some changes in the Cast of Characters section of the story. As you all know now, the OC character **Tip (the Dark version of Pit) **is no longer OC, but **is** **now a major Nintendo character**! Thanks to the latest 2011 TGS trailer! So until we know more about this badass Tip (now belonging to Nintendo) his info got edited, his name got scraped, and his appearance got delayed (sorry Rhodes's). After all, this story should be a fan prequel of Uprising and I want to make the tale quite accurate.

So if any of you fans know some dirty little secret about **Tip **(or Dark Pit, or whatever his name's gonna be), feel free to share!

Now onto the story!

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 4: Avalon

_…and so it was with great plea from Pit to the pious goddess Palutena that he requested his full leave from the Angel Realm of Skyworld to the Mortal Realm down below, and the goddess Palutena granted him just that._

_Now Pit, no longer an angel or archangel of the Angel Realm of Skyworld, was now a mortal living among all in the Mortal Realm, on a personal mission to make the people revere the name of Pit, the Kid Icarus across all the Realms across this Earthly dimension._

_Alas, this mission for Pit will not turn out quite as simple as he thought. For there will be dangers slithering through his every move, his every path… dangers that are out to destroy him completely…_

xXx

"Lady Palutena! Can you hear me? LADY PALUTENA!"

In the midst of the colosseum battlefield Pit kept calling out to his goddess... alas to no avail.

The clashing of swords and axes, the shredding of skins, the tearing of muscles, the spilling of bloods, the bellowing of beasts, and the despaired outcries of the Roman citizens, both young and old were so loud that Pit couldn't hear himself call out desperately to his Goddess; the Lady Palutena. He shouted out so loudly that he even began to fathom the fact that his goddess can no longer hear him. After all, he was an angel no more but a mere human... which was his wish to become. And a wish he regretfully wish it was not granted.

The noises around him quickly turned deafening that they sounded like they were closing in on him. He then heard Bella shout out loud, "PIT, WATCH OUT!"

He turned around and a powerful force pushed him right to the ground and a blast of pain thundered through his spine. Pit cried out in agony, squinting at the sight of a large hellhound. The creature roared, but in a split second yelped in pain as blood spilled violently from its neck and tumbled sideways to the ground. Pit saw Terren with his blade, bloodied for slaughtering the creature.

Terren helped Pit up from the ground and said unto him with a smirk, "Looks like you're not ready yet, young Pit."

"HEEEYYY, that's my line!" Pit exclaimed.

More Monoeyes came at the two warriors charging, and the two warriors didn't hesitate to slaughter their numbers.

Pit looked up and once again saw Ebony, casually walking away from the bloodshed of the battlefield down a dark corridor, which slowly engulfed her into its darkness.

Pit turned to Terren and shouted, "Look after Bella and Praus!" and took off running in pursuit. Terren who was busy dealing with the monsters was caught by surprise to Pit's request and shouted, "Wait, what?" he then added, "…wait, where're you going boy? Y'can't leave! HEEY!"

But too late, Terren's outcry fell to Pit's deaf ears as he was now disappearing into the darkness of the corridor. Terren went after him but a swarm of Monoeyes came in numbers and barred him the way, buzzing around like bees. A Mick came face-to-face with him and ran its massive slob of a tongue all over his cheeks, face, and spiky blue hair. Then at a blinding speed, the Mick pulled its tongue outward and came across his face with a mighty slap, knocking him straight to a wall. The swarm continued their assault on the citizens

xXx

Pit came to a screeching stop as he beheld the grand hall of the Roman Colosseum, hollow as an empty cup, yet spacious as the bowel of the earth. Its pillars surrounding him were magnificent with its splendor of glass and ivory structure, and its walls matched its exact colors. Though the Colosseum arena was darkening with each summoned monsters on the battlefield, the grand hall before Pit appeared to be safe.

But Pit was wary. For in his many years of adventures, an empty place can only speaks of surprises. So he proceeded with caution, his eyes fixing on the shrinking hall straight down before him and throwing quick glances around him. His blades were firm in his grasp.

"Where are you?" he whispered, his mind still set on finding that mysterious woman. She was nowhere to be found.

"_Pit_?"

Pit looked up, recognizing the divinity within the voice, "Lady Palutena!" his voice echoed within the chambers. A relieved smile emerged to his face, "You can hear me!"

"_Of course I can_!" the goddess's voice responded, "_The calamity of the Roman Empire has apparently drowned out our connections. Too much evil in the premises_."

A horde of Monoeyes and Hellhounds came in a swarm before Pit. The bloodthirsty hounds growled so greatly it was chilling to the bones. The Monoeyes simply gazed unto their opponent.

Pit's fingers snapped and immediately two orbitars floated by his side. He tugged his arm forth the monsters and blasts of fireballs shot at them at rippling speed and lo! Eight of the monsters fell in the attack.

The smirking Pit snapped his fingers again and his two blades came at him. Immediately he rushed against the crowd as Palutena spoke.

"_Hear me Pit! Darkness is looming within every corner of this colosseum_."

A pair of slashes lacerated one Monoeye in two. A quick bob-and-weave from a Hellhound and he ran his blade down the creature's stomach, pulled it out to spin and drive two blades down another hellhound's eyes. Pit danced away from the countless bites and tackles and out of the crowd he was off. I could practically feel the creatures losing confidence…

"Sure." Pit smiled in response to Palutena, "But they're no match against me I gotta tell ya!"

Another rush at the mass and four more creatures fell. Then eight more. Then twelve. Before long it was sixteen.

"_You must proceed with caution," Palutena went on as Pit fought the creatures, "should you plan to reach the Lady who will guide you to your destiny, as mortal_."

Only four more creatures left. Two Hellhounds and two Monoeyes. Pit watched the Hellhounds turning on their heels and trampled on the stone as they were fleeing, yelling in surrender. Pit whipped up a staff from out of thin air and swung. A speedy trail of light flew into the hounds' sides, slit their skins, and they dropped to the fine granite floor twenty feet away. Pit whipped back to the Monoeyes, now with his standard gunblade on hand, he barely leapt out of their ways when he fired a barrage of bullets. They vanished in pieces.

"Phew! That was easy." Pit sighed. He shook his head, shifting his focus to the invisible goddess "Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say something about The Lady who will guide me?"

He pondered for a moment; hand on chin; at which point he was befuddled of what the goddess advised of him. Thereupon he asked, "Who is this Lady who will guide me?"

"Why, that would be me of course." a voice spooked Pit from behind. He whizzed back, pointing his gunblade at the source. He finally saw her: the woman he was pursuing.

He lowered his weapon.

"Pit was it?" Ebony called his name.

Pit's head slowly moved, his sea-blue energetic eyes still fixated on her as if in an inescapable entrancement, he tried to speak up, "h-Hi!"

The Lady before him was no doubt an exquisite beauty up-close. Her tunic was of fine ebony color outlined in violet with a belt; similar to the one Pit bore.

Her hair was a dark-brown shade akin to rich chocolate. Their strands were wavy, falling about to her shoulders. Her eyes were like lavender flowers, and she was about as tall as Pit. Ebony had her wings hidden, so to conceal her identity.

But when Pit saw her, his heart was definitely not in the right place, "uuuuuuhhhh..."

"Are you all right?" Ebony asked of him as she stepped forward with such elegance, finesse and seductive poise, it had Pit's blood completely frozen.

"You better not think about doing anything naughty to me!" Her voice suddenly sounded threatening. Before Pit could react, the lady moved in close to him with her sharp blade resting below his throat.

"Whoa!" Pit startled, no longer trapped from his entrancement, "Wh-heyy...! I... I wasn't thinking about...!" His face flushed blood-red with embarrassment.

"Or I swear," the lady went on, "this blade'll be your newest best friend at the meat market!"

"I wasn't... I...is this..." Pit was mortified by this. He whimpered to Palutena, "...Lady Palutena, are you for real?"

"Nevermind that." Ebony made her blade vanish, "you need to follow me. Come on." she grabbed Pit by the wrist, dragging him further down the colosseum halls.

"Hey, where are we even going any-?" Pit squinted, feeling his wrist bones cracking at Ebony's firm grasp, "...ow! You're hurting me!"

Finally inside a secluded chamber, Ebony let go of Pit. Pit choked up, rubbing on his sore wrist, "You're freakishly strong."

She snapped him a mean look, "No time to whine!" she snarled.

Pit stared. Ebony cleared her throat and forced a smile, "Sorry. I'm just being impatient." she looked away, staring further in the chamber, "These monsters won't stop until they get the Roman Empire in their tiny monstrous fingers..." she glanced back at Pit, "...if you don't do something out of it!"

"What do you want me to do?" Pit asked.

"Pit." she called, "What is it that you want to do? Here in this place?"

Pit hesitated for a second, one eyebrow raised, "Am I safe to reveal my secret to yet another human?"

"You're speaking to the Lady who will guide you. Sent by Palutena herself. Not a mere human." she said out loud, "Now I'll not ask again. What is your objective here in this place?"

Pit shrugged as he was at a loss.

Ebony sighed exasperatedly, "You want the people of the Realm to revere the name of Pit as savior of humans from Medusa's clutches! Right?"

"Ohh!" Pit finally got it, "Yeah! Most definitely! Yeah...!"

"You want to save these mortals from evil, right?" her voice raised, turning into a pep talk.

"Yeah!" Pit said out loud again in cheer.

"You want to deliver then and redeem them! Shout your name in full glory?"

"YEEEEAAAAH!" Pit pumped his fists in the air.

"Good! Then—!" Ebony shoved Pit further down the chamber. Pit was about to complain again when he stopped, dead on his tracks, bug-eyed.

He beheld a magnificent blade, a blade that stood thrust into a fine anvil before a magnificent stain-glass window. The sunlight—the only source of light that lit up the small chamber—gleamed through the glass and let a billion of its reflecting lights bear the sword's sharp blade like a diamond. The sword hilt was a mix of gold and ruby, graced with abstracted foliage on its cross-guard and the head of a Dragon bearing a thousand fangs, which was its pommel.

Pit was charmed by this blade's appearance. Especially the Dragon's head. He slowly approached it, walked up the steps and laid hands unto the hilt. He paused, finally caught his breath as if it was robbed by the sword, then slowly bent his knees.

_PIT! DON'T PULL THAT SWORD!_

Pit jumped at the cry of his goddess Palutena, but too late. The sword slid from its anvil with smoothness and ease.

The sunlight was gone, blanketed by a sorrowful gray, and a powerful thunderstorm roared like a vengeful god shaking the very foundation of the chamber. Pit couldn't maintain his balance. Thunder suddenly smote around him. He screamed, trapped by the random lightning bolts.

Pit turned to face Ebony. Shockingly she stood firm among the violent rocking chambers.

"Hey, what's going on?" Pit cried out to her.

"Your wish came true, Pit!" Ebony quirked, "And now it's about to get interesting!"

The sword pulled itself away from Pit and gracefully floated before him. The sword then flipped in midair its sharp tip aimed at Pit, and rapidly drove itself to Pit's heart. Pit cried out as Ebony beheld his mortal body falling on his knees and before it hit the tile floor took a bright glow and overwhelmed the chamber.

xXx

Thunders and lightning smote the underworld monsters that overran the Colosseum arena and soon the people found themselves at their mercy no more. But the violent earthquake would not cease, and the people were losing their balances. They then turned to watch the inside halls of the Colosseum shooting out rays and flashes of light, indicating that something was amiss within its walls. And they were filled with amazement and curiosity.

"What's happening?" Bella shouted unto her friends. And Terren exclaimed to her, "Pit is inside that Colosseum!"

Terren left the arena and departed for the inside of the Colosseum. And soon the people, and even the Emperor and his Imperial daughter followed him.

The chambers stopped shaking and the light finally dimmed away from Ebony. She opened her eyes again and she beheld Pit's body donning his angelic form and gracefully floating besides her. The sword was still gripped in his hands. But Pit looked different. The color of his angelic form was no longer white.

They were dark.

Pit opened his eyes and saw that he was floating, bearing on his angelic form. He was shocked, amazed…

"You've done it, Pit of Skyworld!" Ebony shouted out greatly, "You've beheld the magnificent blade of old." She spread her arms apart, crying out the name of the sword with full glory, "THE AVALON!"

Pit's face fell in shock, "What?"

_"Pit!"_

Pit heard Palutena's voice once again and cried out, "Palutena!"

"_I've warned you of the Avalon but you didn't listen!" _The goddess sounded angry, "_I told you to stay away from it like a forbidden fruit!"_

"But—!" Pit exclaimed, "You told me to follow the Lady who will guide me!" he turned to Ebony, "You told me to follow _her!_"

"_I said no such thing!"_

Ebony couldn't help but pull out a sly smile. But when Pit beheld her mouth opening up to speak, he was shocked to hear Palutena's voice come out from it.

"_I did._" She said.

The color on Pit's face vanished. His grip on the sword loosened and with a resounding crash, the sword landed on the ground and like a glass shattered into a million pieces. When Ebony and Pit saw this they gaped.

"You've done it again, Pit of Skyworld." Ebony said unto Pit, her jaws widening with sheer bliss, "Not only you beheld the Avalon; you've broken its ever-legendary forbidden spell."

Pit quivered. He looked down at the million of shards from the Avalon and his heart fell. Hearing Ebony say these words meant that something very wrong was yet to come. He turned to Ebony and cried out at her, "You tricked me!"

"_Pit…_"

Pit heard Palutena's voice again—her real voice. But when he heard it, she sounded different, as if fading out from a dream. Pit cried out to his goddess, "Palutena! Wait!"

She was heard no more.

"Palutena, please! Can you hear me? Don't leave me, PALUTENA!"

"Your goddess cannot hear you anymore." Ebony informed him, "Judging by your new look, you're one of us now. An Angel of Darkness!"

Pit would've flown right onto Ebony and offered her a beating that would have left her face permanently scarred; alas the invisible force that suspended him in midair prevented him to even move one step.

"You'll pay for this, Angel of Darkness!" Pit screamed out loud, "You'll pay it WITH YOUR LIFE!"

Ebony vanished into violet flames, her evil laughter trailed behind. And Pit soon watched the people of Rome rushing into the chamber. Terren and Bella were shocked to see Pit in his attire and they fell on their knees. Tears trickled down Bella's cheeks, and Terren's jaws hanged open.

The Emperor Pilaf stepped before the Dark Angel Pit, then looked upon the million shards of the Avalon, and, like the crowd behind him, he was very afraid.

"…Angel of Darkness…" he muttered, "You're an Angel of Darkness!" he cried out. The crowd followed with a roar of agony. "You've unleashed dark calamity amongst the people of Rome like a witch performing witchcraft!"

And the crowd roared again. They roared so loudly that their voices caused the chambers to shake like the earthquake from earlier. Pit could finally move again as the force gently released him and his dark form slowly landed on the floor besides the million pieces.

"I… I can explain…" Pit's voice quivered.

"You've shattered the Avalon!" the Emperor exclaimed.

"Okay, I can't explain that…" Pit quivered, "…but—!"

"The Old Emperor was right." Pilaf declared, "You're the one angel whom he spoke of. The one who has unleashed this dark times unto the Empire."

When the crowd heard this they were very afraid. And very mad at the same time. And Pit did not like that; for he wanted to win their affection and not trample on them like he was trampling on the Avalon's million shards right now. He turned to Bella and Terren who looked away from him like a plague.

"Seize him!" The Emperor shouted in command and before Pit knew it, five or six guards surrounded him, cuffed him in chains and tied up his dark wings. The crowd exploded into a tumult of outcry.

"Any form of wizardry, witchcraft and supernatural practices against the Empire is a capital offense!" Pilaf declared, "By law, the criminal shall be burned to the stake!"

When Pit heard this, he struggled to break free and cried out for help. "Wait! Please! You got it all wrong! Lady Palutenaaaaa!" But his voice was quickly drowned into the crowd's uproar of cheers and outcries. "LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME! LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME!"

Gwenifer watched the soldiers escorting Pit outside. She turned to her father, but said nothing further. She couldn't defy her Emperor's rule, alas again she could sense that something was definitely wrong.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Trial**


	7. Ep5: Trial

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

**Author's Note: **The story updates condition have changed. Please read them on my profile to see what you can expect for the future of this fanfic and all of my other fanfics.

**reply BladeStar360**: Your OC had something to do with another character from another video game NOT related to the Kid Icarus series. Even though the character is a hero of that video game, he's NOT a fresh original character coming from your creation, even though he doesn't have a name in the game. Sorry about that. Also I cannot accept any new OCs at this time.

Oh, and even though I accept anonymous reviews, I'd like you to please sign in so that next time when I get a question I can reply via PM.

Now onto the story!

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 5: Trial

_…and so it was with great plea from Pit to the pious goddess Palutena that he requested his full leave from the Angel Realm of Skyworld to the Mortal Realm down below, and the goddess Palutena granted him just that._

_Now Pit, no longer an angel or archangel of the Angel Realm of Skyworld, was now a mortal living among all in the Mortal Realm, on a personal mission to make the people revere the name of Pit, the Kid Icarus across all the Realms across this Earthly dimension._

_Alas, this mission for Pit will not turn out quite as simple as he thought. For there will be dangers slithering through his every move, his every path… dangers that are out to destroy him completely_

xXx

Gwenifer entered the Empire's square, witnessing the multitude of people filling up every corner of every street, still crying out with justice in mind, "LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME! LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME!"

It was only yesterday when a criminal was arrested for exposing magic to the Empire. But that was not the only crime. The criminal has also shattered the magnificent Avalon and exposed himself as an Angel of Darkness.

That criminal was Pit.

But the princess never knew Pit. She just felt that he was young and innocent and wrongly accused. She squeezed past the crowd, seeing all of these faces: faces of anger and fury. Not a friendly face in sight. She was desperate for some answers.

She suddenly caught sight of the figure in the red hooded cloth. A smile ebbed out and she ran toward the figure.

"My love." She called out to him, "I need your help!"

The figure turned to face her and removed his hood. She gasped at the sight of the stranger before her—a criminal with a huge scar across his face, large wide eyes and crooked teeth. It was not her love!

She turned to depart from him but he quickly seized her by the wrist. "Why, where are you going, my love?" he grimaced. "You speak to me and yet you do not want to be with me, is that it?"

"I—I'm sorry!" she struggled, "I thought you were—!"

"Someone else?" the criminal laughed, "Why you are so not wrong, my sweet nectar." He caressed her cheek with the back of his wrinkly hand, "I'm just your type."

She moved her face away from his touch. He forcefully pinched her by the cheeks. She screamed.

"Now, would you stop resisting so that I can enjoy your compa—?"

His words suddenly got replaced by a squeal of pain as a flying kick met his face. Gwenifer stepped back and watched the criminal sailing to the side of the street like a rag doll, half-conscious. The princess turned around and beheld Terren before her. Bella and Praus came as well. Terren rushed at the criminal and lifted him by the collar, "Nobody shall treat a lady like that, mate!" he threw a solid punch at the criminal, knocking him out cold.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Praus asked Bella who nodded, shaken. "I'm… I'm fine."

"You're the princess of Rome." Bella said unto her, "Lady Gwenifer was it?"

"Y-yes… who are—?"

Bella grappled on Gwenifer's hands and cried out loud, "Please, my lady, please! Tell your father that what he's doing is wrong! Pit is innocent!"

"Wait…" the princess said, just as Terren rejoined the party, "You three know that young man?"

"He's not a criminal!" Praus argued, "He's been set up!"

"But how can we prove that?" Terren said, "He revealed himself as an Angel of Darkness to the entire city of Rome! And Angels of Darkness are greatly feared in this place."

"But that doesn't prove he's evil!" Bella exclaimed, "I just know it!"

"Then what do _you _know?" Terren asked Bella.

Bella was silent. She briefly looked at Praus before facing Terren and Gwenifer, who were puzzled, "I… I can't reveal that."

"Bella, come on! His secret is out! We might as well tell them what _we _know!" Praus exclaimed, "It might very well be his only ticket to freedom!"

"Please tell me what you know." Gwenifer asked, "I would also like to help."

"Oh, yeah?" Terren said, "How? You're the princess of Rome. You cannot do anything."

"I can make my father see sense!" Gwenifer argued, "Please, let me help you. Let me help your friend… before it's too late."

xXx

The Court of Rome was crowded. So crowded that there were not enough seats for three-quarter of the people. Most had to stay standing, and some as to lie on the granite floor. But the outcry of the people was no different than the actual city. They were still appalled by what happened. Still shocked by the revelation. Still confused by what led to the discovery that Pit was an Angel of Darkness and responsible for summoning the Old Emperor and his Underworld Army.

And speaking of which, the monsters and the Old Emperor were gone. But for how long, so they thought. They were afraid that he might come back. But they believed that killing Pit—the source of Rome's misery—could put an end to the underworld invasion, just as the Old Emperor predicted.

"Order of the Court! Order of the Court! ORDER OF THE COURT!"

The crowd died away to complete silence at the command of the Emperor Pilaf. Pilaf set his gavel down and called out to his guards, "Bring forth the criminal."

The doors opened, and the crowd in the court began mocking and hissing at the sight of the dark angel Pit stepping into the court. The guards followed him from behind, bounding his wrists so that he will not make any more moves. But Pit did not care about making any moves. His face was darkening at every second.

The guards shoved Pit to the ground. Pit slowly lifted up his head to the Emperor, fixing, gazing. The Emperor appeared nervous yet he proceeded with the case.

"Young man, you are accused of two serious crimes in Rome: exposing magic, and shattering the empire's most precious treasure, the Avalon." The Emperor said unto him. He leaned from his podium and glared at Pit, "Do you have something to say to that? How do you plead?"

Pit rolled his eyes and scoffed, "That treasure does not belong to you, you hypocrite."

When the crowd heard this they were astonished, shocked by the lack of respect Pit gave the Emperor. The stunned Emperor grabbed his gavel and slammed continuously for the booing crowd to cease.

"I said, Order of the Court!" he exclaimed, "The next person who dares to speak shall be beheaded by my count."

"Then you should behead yourself." Pit stated, "You're not that good at following your own orders anyway."

Pilaf gaped. The crowd once again resumed jeering and hissing at Pit. Some started hitting him with tomatoes, some spat on him.

"Your Eminence." One of the soldiers in the Court approached the Emperor, "Allow me to speak sir." He said, "This dark angel is obviously mocking you."

"I can see that, thank you." mumbled Pilaf.

"Methinks that as an angel such as himself he may be immune to death and mortality."

"Yet he did appear as a mortal…" Pilaf pondered, "…such an interesting plot, would you not say?" he turned back to Pit, "So tell me, boy. Where on this Earth do you come from?"

Pit shrugged, "Why should I tell you where I'm from? We're all from the same Adam and Eve. Same planet. From the ground to the sky."

"But others are gifted."

"While others are fraud."

"And I think the gifted one is you."

"Beg to differ?"

"These wings? That garment? The monsters you've summoned?"

Pit shrugged carelessly again, "If I had summoned these monsters, then how did they manage to disappear like that?"

"You tell me. How did you make them appear?"

"I dunno. Ask Durand. Your _star_ witness."

Pilaf was about to say something went he paused. He sank back to his seat and briefly stared around. There was no sight of the Old Emperor Durand. The crowd nervously jittered.

Pit cocked his head on one side "Ohh… what's the matter?" a sly smile spread by the corner of his lips, "Cat got your tongue, Your Eminence?"

The Emperor growled under his breath. The dark angel did have a point. The Old Emperor Durand _was_ the one who summoned these monsters and he may be the one who made them disappeared. But where was that demonic coot? Not a single clue he had.

"Burn 'im to the stake!" one woman screamed from the audience and the audience roared with agreement.

Pit turned to her with blood-hatred in his eyes. A snap of his fingers and a shadow ball shimmered above his palm to the amazement of the court. "How about I burn _you _right where you stand?"

He tugged his arm forward and the ball struck the heckler. An explosive cloud overwhelmed the court and everyone screamed with great woes and perils as the cleared-up smoke left the woman no more. Bella, Praus, Terren and the princess just arrived at the court to witness this and, like the crowd of people, they were greatly frightened.

"I uhh… don't think it's a good idea to interrupt this trial now." Terren quivered.

"That's not Pit!" Bella exclaimed.

"GUARDS, SEIZE 'IM!" Pilaf bellowed

"What do you mean that's not Pit!" Praus exclaimed as the guards stampeded toward the angel. The princess's eyes beheld Pit and that's when she shouted out.

"DEMON!"

The crowd exclaimed. Pit turned toward her, blood-hatred in his eyes. He screamed as he shot another shadow ball from his hands, heading straight for the princess. "DUCK!" Terren pulled the princess down as he and the girls ducked, the shadow ball blindly brushed past them and struck a wall, causing a large hole. The Court shook violently, debris fell all over, and everyone went screaming.

Pit shot another shadow ball at approaching soldiers and sent them flying into charred pieces. He shot another one at more crowded people, and more damages rocked the Court. People flew across with sheer terror.

"Stop this! Stop it this instant!" Pilaf shouted. Pit turned to him with a huge grin on his face. Pilaf shrank back in his seat. Pit fluttered his wings and he gently floated until he was now on the podium next to the gavel, face to face with Pilaf. Pilaf looked like he was about to cry.

Pit clasped his hands together, let out a loud battle cry, and a dark ball of energy started to built between his palms.

"Father!" Gwenifer shouted, "He's gonna kill Father!"

Praus pulled out a small rock the size of a marble from the belt of her toga and tightly gripping it she said, "Not on my watch!"

She stepped back, reeled her arm back in and threw a big swing, sending the rock flying toward Pit. Pit heard something, turned around and watched the rock coming at him at a blind fast speed to his forehead.

WHAAACK!

Pit tumbled off the platform just as a shadowy misty gray Will-o-Wisp escaped his ears and zoomed across the court, causing more panic. Pit himself landed on the ground unconscious.

"What the…?" Terren was amazed.

"Come on! We gotta get Pit out of here before they end up executing him!" Bella pleaded and the girls went for the unconscious Pit. Terren followed with his sword, swinging and jabbing at the fluttering will-o-wisp dancing over the panicked crowd. Gwenifer, Bella and Praus finally got hold of Pit and quickly sneaked out of the court through the back room before anyone could notice.

They were now crossing a dark dusty stairway when Terren finally spoke, "What was that thing?"

"Like I've said, demon." she said, "When Pit was exposed to the Avalon, it not only exposed his true form and his powers to the mortals, it has also awakened an embodiment of darkness within him. Only it manifested within him, possessing him until he became…"

"Evil." Praus finished.

"Exactly." Gwenifer said.

"But wait…!" Bella said, "It's gonna possess the people at the Court!"

Gwenifer shook her head, "No. On the contrary, it will only haunt them. But we shouldn't worry about this now. We must take him to somebody I know who can help him get back to his senses. She's a Witch. She calls herself the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask. Unlike the Grim Reaper, she has a kind of gift that restores people's souls."

"You think he's dead?" Praus exclaimed.

"I don't know." The princess replied, "But no matter what the case, we should revive him. Let's hurry!"

xXx

The misty gray Will-o-wisp left the court and the people in tears and trembling. Pilaf slowly leaned up, glancing around.

"I think we're safe sir…" one of the soldiers replied.

Pilaf grabbed his gavel and slammed it on the platform, "NO WE'RE NOT!" he bellowed, "There's a hypo-psycho-critical maniac on the loose! And we need to find him! He exposed magic to the public, and we need to find him. He attempted to steal our treasure the Avalon, only to shatter it into pieces, and we need to find him. He committed mass murder RIGHT HERE IN THIS COURT HOUSE, and we need to FREAKIN' FIND HIIIM!"

The soldiers and the crowd roared in cheers and agreement, "YEEEEAAAAH!"

"Search the premises! Rummage around town! Investigate every nook and cranny you can find! And whoever are his accomplices, find them and kill them on the spot!" the Emperor shouted and the soldiers and the crowd once again roared in cheers and agreement, "YEEEEAAAAH!"

"LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME! LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR! LONG LIVE ROME!"

xXx

Terren, Bella, Praus and Gwenifer have left the Palace and have managed to enter the humble abode of the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask. She was an old coot who bore the Grim Reaper's Mask, leaving only her chapped wrinkled lips exposed and her gray hair wild like Medusa. She sported a dark-red hood that covered all of her scrawny body up to her sharp unclean toes. She carried a large iron staff with claws tied to it near the top.

No one knew of this witch except for the princess Gwenifer. Interestingly enough, no one knew of her existence even though she was living right deep under the Roman Palace's depths. Of course that was because the Roman Palace undergrounds were a series of caves and labyrinths expanding over bodies of water that made up the empire's sewage system. And deeper than that was the end zone and the forbidden point to ever cross further. And because anything that is forbidden by Roman Law carried serious penalties against lawbreakers, the Witch had decided to make that point her home.

And what a home it was: A murky, green light-fainted, retched space imbued with the foul odor of dead bodies and manure. Yet it was surprisingly warm with the torches all lit up on the narrow walls, leading up to… dead end.

Gwenifer pulled out her ring from her finger and pressed its pearl gently on a small hole—among many holes—in the wall before her and everyone beheld the wall shifting, carving a stone entrance. The stone rolled away, inviting the heroes into a well-lighted and furnished cave abode. There was a fancy carpet covering most of the floor and every corner was full of jars and pots. There was a bookshelf at the far end wall and an empty cauldron in the middle. Animated brooms swept back and forth. And the group saw the Witch standing before the bookshelf, looking like she was expecting them.

So the gang quickly took Pit to a seat and ever since then they've been watching the hands of the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask working all over the unconscious Pit, feeling his skin, pinching his cheeks, rustling his wild fluff of hair with this fully yet unpredictable endeavor. She pinched his eyelids, flew them open to reveal his big unanimated eyes. All the while she was mumbling with a gibberish tongue, going on about whatever that was happening in her mind. It was getting irritated, especially for Terren who was slowly losing his patience.

"Oh, blast it, woman! What is wrong with the boy?" he exclaimed. The girls turned to him and they try telling him to keep quiet, but Terren was getting louder, "Is he gonna survive or not?"

The Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask turned to him and with her large iron staff whacked Terren's head hard enough for him to scream and cringe, "Owww!"

"Hush child!" said the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask, "Let the witch 'ere do what the witch 'ere does best!" her eyes pinched into a goofy scowl, "restore souls."

And the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask resumed her fondling of Pit's body until she flew a blood-curdling slap across the angel's face, jerking him off his sleep and off his chair. And Terren, Bella, Praus and Gwenifer were all amazed.

Pit struggled back to his feet, wide awake and in pain. His hand rubbed gently on his sore face, "AAAAOOOOW!"

"Oooh, that's gotta hurt." Praus frowned.

Pit turned to Praus and shouted, "Oh, you think? Because that requires ice over the wound now! And not just any ice! Ice from the frozen tundra of…!" Pit looked around, not recognizing the venue that he was in, "…wait, what's going on?"

"PIT!" Bella hugged her friend tightly, "I'm so glad that you're all right!"

"Okay…?"

"We thought you were gone forever." Praus explained, "You became a dark angel. An Angel of Darkness. And you used your powers to kill a thousand people at the Court of Rome."

"No…" Pit gaped, suddenly remembering, "…I can't believe I did that. But I did way worse, I was exposed by that sword the Avalon and ended up destroying it. And I was arrested. That's all I could remember. After that everything was vague."

Pit gasped, "Oh no, Palutena!"

"The witch 'ere bids you her apologies," the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask said to him "for now that you are no longer an angel of Skyworld you cannot contact your goddess again."

"But I still can." Pit protested unto the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask, "Palutena may have rendered me mortal but she didn't take away our way of communication between each other." He then looked up into the ceiling and shouted out, "Right, Lady Palutena?"

But there was not a sound. He tried again.

"_Right_, Lady Palutena?"

Still no sound. The smile across his face vanished. He then turned to his friends—Bella, Praus, and Terren—and they were all sadden.

"I'm sorry Sir Pit." Gwenifer said, "But I do have strong faith that you will see and hear the Goddess again."

"Ahhh…" the Witch with the Grim Reaper Mask sighed gruffly, "but what of Rome? The witch 'ere highly doubt that you will even make past its exit borders now that you are a mortal."

"Hm-mm! A mortal with magical powers." Terren said.

"Who just had to shed off a very creepy dark spirit into the air." Praus added.

"You telling me." Bella agreed and so did Gwenifer.

"More like a psychotic creep." Terren further added, "Did you see what you did to that poor woman back in Court? Or those guards? Or those people?" Terren suddenly exploded with laughter.

"No, I prefer not to…" Pit didn't finish as Terren's laughter intensified. "Oh my gosh that was _sick_!" The warrior exclaimed, neglecting the remorseful yet disgusted look on the group's faces. Finally he noticed their expressions and quickly killed his laughter.

"Ahem… and sad." He muttered.

"What is going to happen now?" Bella said, "Pit can't go back to the Empire eventually. He's a wanted man."

"So are we." Terren added, "We've helped an accomplice. And the princess here helped us too!"

"It was my choice to make." Gwenifer explained.

"I'm scared." Praus mumbled.

"HEY! No one should be scared!" Pit exclaimed, standing up, "No one should jump into the throat of a whale to help me out! I made this mess myself and I will work it out on my own."

"So what are you saying exactly? You're Superman?" Praus said sarcastically.

Pit frowned, "No, I'm not Superman…" he paused, "…anymore. BUT let me find a way to fix the Avalon, see if Palutena's okay and make sure I win those people's trust again before I permanently end up as _Rome's Most Wanted_." He smiled, "Trust me guys. I will do all of this in two fortnights!"

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

_-_Pit has a new ally – Galen Sage from _Fire Emblem Vs._

-The secret of the Avalon is revealed. It is more than an accursed sword. It is a key…

-The entire Roman Empire seeks Pit's powers to use as their own.

-Palutena and Pit's connection is lost forever. However the goddess is not giving up hope in finding her trusty angel.

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Dragonking**


	8. Ep6: The Dragonking

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

**Author's Note: **The story updates condition have changed. Please read them on my profile to see what you can expect for the future of this fanfic and all of my other fanfics.

Now onto the story!

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 6: The Dragonking

_These are the Sacred Words of an Angel Story. _

_Pit voluntarily left the Angel Land of Skyworld on a mission to redeem the mortals, ackowledging him as the savior who freed the human race from Medusa and her Underworld Army._

_But then a mystical treasure, a magnificent sword, has placed a hold on Pit's mission. As beautiful as the most precious of jewels, but as vile as the most poisonous serpent, its magic has exposed his powers to the human race, thus making them fearful of him and hostile toward him._

_But the brazen angel is not going down that easily as he is about to discover that this treasure is more than just an ordinary sword. It is a key to a much, much bigger threat..._

xXx

The figure with the red hooded cloth crossed through a dense forest. Breathing heavily, his feet pounded through the muddy grounds past thorn bushes and poison ivy plants, dodging stumps that stood in his way. He was running so fast that he could hear his heart thumping and his sharp breath out loud.

He turned to look and he beheld an army of soldiers and knights and halberdiers, hot on his trails. His pace quickened. It didn't matter where he was going, whether it was toward an arid wilderness or the forbidden river Styx. Escaping this army was his only option.

But the figure's escaping attempt was cut off short when his toes met a sturdy rock and went sailing down over a steep hill. He crashed hard on his chest, quickly turned to see the army closing in. A soldier went at him with a sharp lance, ready to run it through the figure's chest, but the figure with the red hooded cloth stretched out his hand and the soldier propelled into the air toward a large tree. More soldiers came at the figure with the red hooded cloth. The figure jumped back up to his feet and swung a kick across his attackers, sending more of them flying. He stretch his hands out to them again and more men flew off the ground. The army noticed their numbers were quickly decreasing and their confidence quickly lowered.

"Quickly!" shouted one of the soldiers, "Surround him but don't let him touch you!"

They slowly approached the figure with the red hooded cloth. Their blades pointed at him, they surround him in every direction. The figure posed for combat, sweating and breathing heavily from all that running.

"Allow me." the leader of the army said to his people before he approached the figure with the red hooded cloth. The leader was blond and had a blond beard. "Give it up, malformed." he said to him, "You are surrounded."

Once the figure with the red hooded cloth heard the leader, he stretched out his hand toward him again and a powerful force swept the leader of the army off his feet and right toward a large tree. At this, the army struck their lances at the figure, forcing him on his knees and surrounded him. They pulled up ropes, tied up his wrists and bounded his legs.

"Seize him!" the leader slowly recovered from his wounds, "Don't let him touch you in any way possible!"

But the leader of the army already beheld his army seizing the figure in the red hooded cloth. Some soldiers came to his aid.

"Are you all right, sir?" one of the soldiers asked and he replied bitterly, "I'm fine!" he turned back to the figure with the red hooded cloth, "Just make sure that this _malformed _gets what he deserves."

"What I deserve is freedom." The figure in the red hooded cloth hissed, "And you robbed me of it, Roman curs."

The leader raised an eyebrow, "Oh… well you sound… dreadfully familiar." He said. "I wonder who the hell you are."

The figure in the red hooded cloth struggled but at least five of the Roman soldiers held him in place. The leader vigilantly approached the figure, tightened his grip on the figure's hood and pulled it off his head. When he saw who the figure in the red hooded cloth was, he was amazed. And so was his army. He was so amazed in fact that a wide smile of bliss filled up his entire face and he laughed out loud.

"Well! Look what the divine Roman Emperors offered to us!" he said, "It's Olympia's coward ruler… King Galen."

Galen, Dragon Emperor of Olympia, was also called the Dragonking, or by his people King Frederiss, which was his native name. Though he was born a dragon, under human flesh he was a beautiful being. His hair was fiery red and combed over and he had piercing blue eyes like the deepest sea. Under his red hooded cloth, he sported a white opened collar noble shirt, dark-green vest, green cape, black baggy trousers and emerald silver boots. He also had a metal belt with a Dragon buckle and had a tattoo on his left arm and a diamond stud on his right ear.

"You will make a fine treasure at the Palace's Fortune Chamber." The leader of the army said to him, "So fine indeed."

Galen spat at the leader's face. The leader slowly wiped the sputter off him, glared back at his captive and with a mighty hand struck Galen's face. Galen just stood there, quietly seething.

"Maybe you will make a fine treasure once you're dead." The leader pulled out his blade and raised it up, its tip pointing over the Dragonking's chest.

He was about to strike him with the blade when a speedy arrow from above flew and dug itself through his hands. The leader let go off his sword and cried out in pain, holding on his shaking bleeding hand. All heads turned to the direction of the arrow and they beheld Pit swinging on a vine with his First Blade on one hand. He drove his feet right at the soldiers that was holding Galen down and struck his blade across the ropes that bounded Galen, freeing the dragon.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Pit said before landing on the ground next to the Dragonking. The Dragonking stood there stunned. "…you again?" he said to Pit.

"GET THEM!" the leader of the army cried out and the soldiers went for Pit and Galen. Pit swung his blade across more men and they fell. He leapt back and pelted more of them in bullets and more of them fell. Galen joined the fight and with his mighty hand, sent more of his enemies flying across the forest. It didn't take long for the army to retreat and flee the forest in haste.

With the battle over, Pit turned to Galen with a smile, "Phew! Glad we don't see that kind of army everyday huh?"

"I can't believe you saved me again." Galen said to Pit, "Last time you did it, you were—!" he paused, noticing Pit was no longer sporting his angel wings or his attire, "…an angel." He was stunned.

Even though Pit was an angel and Galen was a Dragonking, both men knew each other very well like brothers. Pit met Galen long ago when Galen was on his own quest to reclaim his home of Olympia from an underworld kingdom. Pit helped him through the heartache and through victory and ever since these days they were always looking out for each other.

Pit sadly sighed after Galen saw he was no longer an angel and said, "It's a long story." He shook his head, "But I don't want to regret my decision, but…" he paused again, "Let's just say that I have a mission to fulfill and I… blew it."

"I too have a mission to fulfill." Galen said to Pit, "And I don't want to blow it. The fate of the world depends on me retrieving the Avalon from Rome before it's too late."

When Pit heard Galen talk about the Avalon, he was startled, "…wait. The Avalon?"

"Yeah!" Galen replied, sensing Pit's reaction to that name as if he knew something about its location. He approached him curiously and said, "Do you know where it is?"

Pit hesitated, not knowing how to disclose this information to Galen: that he saw the Avalon back in Rome, pulled it out off its rightful place, was stripped off his true form by its malignant power and had shattered it into thousand pieces. He opened his mouth to say all of this when he heard a voice and couple of footsteps.

"Is it over already?"

Pit and Galen turned and saw Terren approaching them and taking notice of the pile of dead men from the pursuing army spread out before them. Terren, wasn't alone of course. Bella, Praus and Princess Gwenifer were there as well.

"Awww… I didn't even get a taste of the fight." Terren whined.

When the girls saw Galen they were shocked and in awe. Bella and Praus were stunned to be at the presence of the Dragonking. But Gwenifer looked at Galen differently than the other two. She saw him the same way he saw her: like they found lost loves.

"Oh my gosh…" Bella stammered, "You're the… you're the…"

"Galen, my love!" Gwenifer cried out before running up to him. The two embraced and kissed. Bella and Praus were moved by the reunion, "Aww…" Praus cooed, "They like each other."

But Terren was shocked and appalled to see that.

"Wait… you two are…!" Terren pointed. Galen and Gwenifer turned to him, puzzled.

"…and you were…!" Terren exclaimed again, stammering, "…but… but how long has it been? Since WHEN?"

"This should be our 36th Day since our first meet." Gwenifer replied.

"Th—36th?" Terren's eyes widened by that revelation. Today was supposed to be _his _36th Day with the princess, not the 36th Day of a princess with a malformed like that dragon… even if that dragon was a king!

"I can't believe this." Bella squealed romantically, "The Dragonking of Olympia and the Princess of Rome are in love."

"That's gotta be a true fairytale of Beauty and the Beast." Praus added.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" the princess said to the Dragonking.

"So did I." the Dragonking said, "Things got horrible after the Old Emperor invaded Rome. I escaped but somehow one of the Emperor's armies got some information of my whereabouts, so they pursued me." He then turned to Pit, "But thanks to Pit, I was saved. I owe you one, buddy."

"Well…" Pit grinned from ear to ear, "It was nothing. Really." He then bowed before him, "Your Majesty."

"Hey man," Galen shook his head and smiled, "you know you can call me Galen right?" he then turned to the other girls, "you know I'm not good at this whole formality thing, right?"

"Galen, I know you are searching for your family treasure, the Avalon." Gwenifer said to him, "But there is something you need to know about it."

"Oh yeah, the Avalon!" Galen exclaimed, "Where is it, Gwen? I mean… I know your father has it, but I don't know where he hid it. I was just hoping that you'd know where it was so…" he quickly composed himself, "…sorry, got carried away. You were saying?"

Before Gwenifer could continue, Pit blurted out, "The Avalon was shattered!"

Galen turned to him, eyes widened. "wh… what?" he stammered.

Pit shamefully stared on the ground, "I'm sorry."

Galen shook his head, frazzled, "whoa-whoa-whoa… wait. Please tell me this is a joke." He said, shaking and stammering where he was standing.

"It's not a joke, Your Majesty." Bella replied, "…I mean King Galen. We saw it happen. It was…!"

"An accident!" Pit interrupted Bella before turning back to Galen, "It was a total accident. We don't know who did it, but it was."

Terren squinted, "What are you talking about, Pit? We all know that you were—!"

"NO one knows who did it, Terren. Okay?" Pit vehemently barked at Terren.

Galen narrowed his blue eyes, "I know who did this." his fists clenched and his teeth tightened, "…Roman curs. They knew of the legend and now the world is in trouble."

Gwenifer could see the anger and the fear flooding Galen's face and she knew exactly what he was talking about. But Bella, Praus, Terren, and Pit all looked puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" Terren asked.

"What's wrong, King Galen?" Praus asked. "Why is the world in trouble?"

The Dragonking proposed that they meet in private, at a fancy villa up on a dense forested hill. The villa was built as a vacation home for the Dragonking and his Royal Family and was not far from the now-seized Olympia. The best part about the villa was that it was enchanted with a powerful spell that would shield its appearance from invaders, making it look like no one could see the villa in the first place.

So the Dragonking took his party there and they gathered around a lounging area, with fancy furniture, and a coffee table next to a crisping fireplace.

It was there that Galen told his story.

"You guys are aware that I am the descendants of Dragons right?" Galen said to them and they said, "Yes."

"Well long ago; humans, dragons, and any other forms of creatures you see here, and even angels were descendants of Titans." He said, "My tribes, the Dragons, are descendants of this Titan called Hyperion."

"Hyperion?" Praus repeated.

"Yeah." Galen said, "He was the ruthless one of all. He was also my grandfather."

Terren's eyes widened, "Whoa. You're serious? Usually grandfathers are old and wrinkly and cranky…"

"…but they're still sweet!" argued Praus.

Terren threw a dismissive hand, "Naaah."

"Anyway…" Galen went on, "Hyperion learned that his descendants will soon overthrow him of his ruleship. So he had to do the impossible."

"What was it?" Bella asked.

"Wage war on the Mortal world and Skyworld." Gwen replied and Galen nodded.

When Pit heard that he was shocked, "Wait… Skyworld? Does Palutena know about this?"

"Knew about it?" Galen replied, "She was part of this. My family, the Dragons and myself, joined forces with Palutena and her Centurion Army in Skyworld. We joined forces with the Twelve Olympians also."

"The Twelve Olympians are the legendary lords of Mt. Olympus in Olympia." Gwen said, "They once ruled Olympia before the Dragons began to rule the land, but after Hyperion and the Titans."

"…but what does that have to do with the Avalon?" Terren asked.

"The Olympians created the Avalon with the very idea of defeating the Titans." Galen said, "But to defeat the Titans, they had to infuse it with the most holiness of powers that nothing on earth, natural or supernatural, light or darkness; could support it. The blade's power was so powerful that it could even strip off a god from his true form, and even expose any hidden powers they harbored. But it was that kind of power that we needed to defeat the Titans. Even if it meant killing both good and evil."

When Pit heard this he was twice as shocked by that revelation. He now understood why Palutena wanted him to stay away from the Avalon. He once again remembered what she said.

"_Beware of the Avalon. Despite its magnificent attire, you must flee from it, like a forbidden fruit_."

"So were they defeated?" Praus asked.

"Defeated, yes." Galen said, "But killed, no." he shook his head; "Hyperion and his Titans Army proved to be very difficult to eliminate. So they had to be sealed away from within the Avalon, and they've remained in there ever since. But now that the Avalon has been shattered…" Galen paused. Filled with dread, he was unable to finish his sentence.

"…the Titans will return." Gwenifer finished for him. She too was filled with dread.

"Man…" Terren sighed, "…I didn't realize how bad that was."

"And Palutena," Pit spoke to Galen, "She knew of that Avalon this whole time?"

Galen replied, "Yeah. I'm not surprised she didn't tell you, her most trustworthy angel in Skyworld. She and Medusa, before she was banished from Skyworld, knew of the Avalon's true powers and were both involved in the War of the Titans with the Olympians and my family the Dragons. They swore they will never speak of the Avalon or the Titans to anyone in Skyworld ever again. And the Avalon had to be protected by the Dragons of Olympia as the kingdom's treasure."

Galen then turned angry and said, "And now those bloody craven Romans took it from us and shattered it! Releasing the Titans unto the world! Not only they took that blade from us, they decimated the kingdom and killed the royal family! My family!"

"Wow…" Pit breathed, "…I didn't realize how bad that was."

"I swear to you guys," Galen seethed, "the day I cross path with them, they will surely pay." He then turned to Gwenifer and said, "I don't care if the Emperor is your father, Gwenifer. What they did was unforgivable!"

"Galen, I can assure you," Gwenifer said, "My father was not responsible for the release of the Titans. He did not shattered the Avalon and free these giants and their armies from their prison."

"But if it's not him then who?" Galen asked vehemently.

"Well…" Gwenifer hesitated. She knew exactly who it was, but she was afraid to disclose it without knowing the entire story. She turned to Pit. And so did Terren, Bella and Praus, who also knew Pit was the one who shattered the Avalon.

"…guys. Don't leave me hanging!" Galen exclaimed, already losing his patience, "Do you know something?"

They shook their heads. "No we don't." Terren said.

"But rest assured your Majesty…" Praus said.

"We'll help you retrieve Avalon's shards." Bella replied.

"Don't worry, Galen." Pit said to him, "We'll make sure the Romans don't get away with this. _I'll _make sure this mistake gets undone fast. Before it's too late."

xXx

So later that night, Bella spotted Pit outside, pacing back and forth frantically. She was worried about him because of what he has learned about the Avalon, what he did to the Avalon back in Rome, and the fact that the Dragonking Galen, who was also an old friend of his, was in charge of protecting the Avalon.

She approached him and called him, "Pit?"

Pit turned to her.

"Can't sleep?"

"How can I with this big crummy weird feeling that makes me feel yucky churning in my heart?"

"...it's called guilt?" Bella said to him with an eyebrow raise.

"Well, I don't like it." Pit replied.

"Pit." Bella said to him, "We all know what happened back in Rome was an accident. You didn't shatter the Avalon into pieces on purpose and you are not responsible for breaking its seal."

"But Bella," Pit exclaimed, "how can you say that when I'm the very one person who took the Avalon from its rightful place and actually shattered it? And how can I make Galen, the Dragonking, my _best _friend, understand what I did was a total accident? That I was tricked? Framed? And if that's not the least of my problems, I defiled Palutena's words of NOT touching the Avalon in the first place!"

Pit sighed, shaking his head and said, "Just face it, Bella. I'm in huge trouble."

"But at least the Titans aren't here." Bella said, "Not yet though."

"But it's only a matter of time." Pit then sighed, "If only I had listened to Lady Palutena. If only I could contact her? She'll tell me what to do, Bella. I'm worried."

"And you don't think we don't know that?" a voice spoke behind Pit and he jumped back. Both he and Bella saw who it was that just spoke and they were astonished.

"Zeidrik and Aleda?!" Pit exclaimed, "Wh-what...!"

"What a surprise huh?" Zeidrik said to him with a huge grin on his face. "So great to see you!" then his face turned dark and sour, "You cost me big time, troublemaking fool!"

Bella couldn't stop staring at the two now-wingless angels. She was so astonished, she was at a loss with words.

Then Aleda, glancing back at the young girl said to Pit, "So who's your friend? Aren't you gonna introduced us?"

"Wait... you can let her see you?" Pit said to them, "But how? And uh... what happened to your-?"

"The wings?" Zeidrik gritted his teeth, "Yeah, glad you finally noticed. You lost your connection to our fair Palutena and now we're stuck here in the flesh of mortals. The goddess was worried sick enough to make me lose my JOB!"

"What?" Pit exclaimed.

"What Zeidrik means," Aleda quickly stepped in, "...is that after your unfortunate encounter with the Avalon, you completely lost any kind of connections you have with not just Lady Palutena, but Skyworld also."

Pit's face blanched, but Aleda went on, "But the only way we could connect with you again was for us to relinquish our angelic status also, but still maintain our connection with Skyworld and Palutena. That way if there's anything our Goddess wants from you, or speak to you, she can do so by speaking through us."

Pit remained stoked. Bella was still astonished, and Zeidrik was still pouting.

Aleda added, "And like Zeidrik said, Palutena wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well, I'm not." Zeidrik muttered, "Just so you know."

"Gee, I'm sorry, Zeidrik." Pit said with remorse.

"How's Skyworld?" Bella jumped into the conversation.

"Luckily, no abnormalities there from the Underworld Army." Aleda reported, "The city is safe. The palace is quiet..."

"No, no, no." Bella said, shaking her head, "I mean, what's it like?" she said, "Is it big? Is it covered with clouds? Do you guys walk on clouds toward this big golden gate and an endless flight of stairs standing before you? Do people sing Palutena's praises? Do you-!"

"Ahh...!" Pit covered Bella's mouth, shutting her up. He grinned back at his friends, "She's just very excited about different cultures."

"Nevertheless, Skyworld is not as it once was, now that Palutena has lost her favorite angel and captain of the Royal Centurion Army forever." Zeidrik told Pit, "You should see the Royal Senate. They are in distraught. They are in pain. They can't even face another day without crying."

xXx

There was great noise back at Skyworld's Palutena's Court, but the noise was the noise of cheers and joys from the angelic Senators. They were celebrating with wine and succulent white turkey meat, and apple-flavored bread crumbs.

But then came in Palutena and the noise in the court lowered into complete silence. She looked around with a stunned expression on her face before she said, "What's all this?"

A senator stood up, "Oh, Lady Palutena."

"Are you having a feast without the presence of your Goddess?" her face darkened.

"But Lady Palutena," said the Senator, "Today is our Semimonthly Skyworld Senator Spread! And you're missing out on delicious turkey breast!"

"And you pick such perfect timing to celebrate the spread?" Palutena walked to the very far side of her court toward her throne before she turned to face her large number of Senators, "Do you even care that we have a missing angel in our midst? Make that _three_ angels? One of them was captain of the Royal Centurion Army and my personal right hand man who recently got exposed by an accursed blade?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Perhaps I should disown you all." She said quietly and suddenly with great woes the Senators begged of her, "Oh no! Please, Lady Palutena, our Goddess!"

"We didn't know what we were doing!" said another one of the Senators, "We thought you had everything under control with the plan to bring Pit back."

"I did." Palutena said, "My work here is done. I have sent out my other two personal angels to look after Pit: Zeidrik and Aleda. And I have also hired the latest addition to the Royal Court."

She beckoned for the person standing a great distance across from her to approach. All heads turned to him, and they beheld an angel unlike any other in the Court of the goddess. Tattered gray-blue toga, hands wrapped in rags, a belt with a tooth as the buckle. Lanky. tan and his hair were red and dirty. His blue eyes zipped across the grand chamber and his gray-red wings hung low. A tattered scarf and headband, wrapped around his face, only leaving his eyes and hair exposed.

"Gentlemen." Palutena began, "I'd like you to meet Acario. Until Pit can return to Skyworld, he shall be the new leader of the Centurion Army."

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

-The heroes reach a new city.

-An old man kidnaps Pit. The companions go after him.

-The Senators disapprove of Palutena's decision.

-The goddess still plans on finding her trusty angel.

-Acario continues to work for Ebony.

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Old Man and his Angel**


	9. Ep7: The Old Man and his Angel

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

**Author's Note: **The story updates condition have changed. Please read them on my profile to see what you can expect for the future of this fanfic and all of my other fanfics.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 7: The Old Man and his Angel

_These are the Sacred Words of an Angel Story. _

_Pit voluntarily left the Angel Land of Skyworld on a mission to redeem the mortals, acknowledged him as the savior who freed the human race from Medusa and her Underworld Army._

_But then a mystical treasure, a magnificent sword, has placed a hold on Pit's mission. As beautiful as the most precious of jewels, but as vile as the most poisonous serpent, its magic has exposed his powers to the human race, thus making them fearful of him and hostile toward him._

_But the brazen angel is not going down that easily as he is about to discover that this treasure is more than just an ordinary sword. It is a key to a much, much bigger threat..._

xXx

-Echo and Eris have been residents of Skyworld for the past 22 years. Young, bold, brash, and a little bit of a narcissist and a womanizer was what one would describe the handsome Echo. Blond, short buzzcut hair, diamond studs as earrings, and a ruby-red armor was what he sported, and a Gunblade was his weapon of choice. Down-to-earth, caring, gentle, but also a fierce fighter was what one would describe Eris. Blond, wavy hair, gold studs as earrings, a sapphire-blue armor she sported, but she carried no weapons but the mystical power of the Palms.

Now Echo and Eris were fraternal twins. Even though they were like sun and moon in personality, they got along so very well. But they were more than just residents of Skyworld. They were, like Pit, captains. But of a different ranking. That of the Knights of the Light.

As the acclaimed Knights of the Light, it was their job to protect Skyworld, should Pit, the Centurions and the Royal Guards lose their strengths in battle. So basically they were like the Secret Weapons of Skyworld. But other than that they didn't do much around Skyworld, but eat, sleep, hang out and train everyday like any regular citizens.

When the Goddess Palutena made public of Acario to be her newly appointed captain of the Royal Army in place of Pit, it did not bode well for Echo and Eris. Thereupon, Echo and Eris made visit to Palutena at her private chamber for a private meeting, where Palutena, with great hospitality, warmly greeted them and ministered to their needs with her delicious blessed rice cakes and Skyworld tea.

She asked of them, "So Echo. Eris. I see that training is going oh so smoothly." she let out a glorious smile on her face. "What do you make of my proposition to appoint our fair kind man Acario to the ranking of Skyworld Royal Army?"

Echo and Eris looked upon each other then turned back to Palutena, Echo spoke, "Yeah... Goddess Palutena. Your hair glows like a field of gleaming mints. Your voice radiates like that of a thousand angels..."

"...But your thinking stinks!" Eris said to the goddess with such indignant tone that the goddess gasped, taken aback, "Oh."

"Hey, I was getting to the good part." Echo argued with his sister, but the female Knight ignored him and went on Palutena, saying to her "You cannot replace Pit that easily with some tan-wrapped sluggard with whom you have scraped from the edge of the River Styx. We don't know what's his history. His strengths. Abilities. Can we even trust him?"

"I believe we can." Palutena argued calmly, "Now why would you think that I hired him in the first place? I can place my confidence in him." She then looked over Echo and Eris and said, "Isn't that right, Acario?"

Echo and Eris were startled by the goddess speaking to Acario behind them. They quickly turned around to face him. Acario briefly stared back before he brushed past them to stay by the goddess's side like a bodyguard.

"Now, Acario." Palutena said to him, "I want you to train my Centurions to the sweat of your brow. Teach them the art of the sword, the art of defense. Skills and techniques. But make sure that they take plenty of rest on the Sky Day, for on the Sky Day, no one should be working. Not even an ant. Got it?"

A smile appeared at the corner of Acario's lip as he nodded. "Yes my Lady."

"Here." Palutena handed him a plate of rice cakes, "Have a Rice Cake." She said, "I added a hint of nutmeg. My secret ingredient. Go on, take a piece." She turned to Echo and Eris and said, "You too, my fellow Knights of Light."

Eris was hesitant to take a cake but because she was standing in front of the Pious Goddess Palutena, she couldn't disobey her by turning down such sweet offer, especially one made with nutmeg, the Goddess's secret ingredient. But Echo, as gluttonous as he has always been, has scooped up an armful of the cakes and started shoving them down his throat like trash chutes.

"Mhn! My Goddess, my beautiful One. You… are such a fine cook! I mean, I don't know how you DO that?"

Eris smacked Echo's chest hard enough to make him jump. Echo shrugged, "What?" Eris didn't say anything but couldn't help to shake her head and roll her eyes at how her twin brother couldn't see the way she perceived this situation.

The Pious Goddess escorted her Knights and her new Captain out of her private chamber to the great hall and said to the three of them, "Do not worry about Pit, Acario and my fellow Knights. Zeidrik and Aleda have taken the form of mortals and for now on will be by his side until they can return to Skyworld. I still have no idea what is Pit's purpose back in the Overworld among the humans, but whatever his goals are I will certainly watch over him and his companions… if not telepathically, in any ways possible."

The goddess smiled again, "After all, what could possibly go wrong?"

So Palutena took her leave, and that left Acario, Echo and Eris together in the great hall of the Sky Palace.

Eris narrowed her eyes at Acario, "I don't know who you are or what you're up to, taking Pit's place like that. But I'm watching you."

Acario said nothing but moved closer to Eris. The startled Eris watched Acario run his lanky fingers over her wavy blond hair and started to twirl and caress the strands until his hand traveled to meet her cheeks. She quickly slapped it away and sauntered back, "Stop it!" she hissed with tremor in her tone. Echo was white as sheet.

Acario put on his best sheepish pouting face on before looking away from the two knights, eyes on the floor.

"Dude." Echo stepped before Acario until he was inches up his nose and said, "Don't go around fondling on my sister."

Then a creepy mocking smile forged on his lips and he said, "She hasn't had her coffee yet. So you might wanna wait till sunset for the primetime show." He uttered primetime from the corner of his lip and Eris upon that yanked Echo away, shoved him in front and they walked out of the great hall together. And Acario was now all alone in the hall.

So Echo and Eris were traversing a great hall in the Sky Palace shortly after leaving Acario alone.

"Hey c'mon! That was funny!" said Echo to his sister.

"No that was disturbing." Eris fumed.

"Seriously Eris. Would you just chillax?" Echo said to his sister who frantically kept ruffling through her hair and looking around suspiciously like all eyes were on her. "That Acario dude is fine."

"You don't know that." Eris said, "But I do. Something's up with this cretin. And I'm gonna find out what exactly is he hiding."

xXx

Now the heroes reached a small town in the outskirts of Olympia known as the Province of Vivaldi. And once they got there, the once peaceful village was occupied by ruthless Roman Centurions, who treated everyone-men, women, and children, even those younger than three-year olds-like slaves. The slaves were to carry large loads of Roman merchandises from one place to the other, for the Roman have taken over most of Olympia and were now settling there.

Anytime the slaves stumbled at their works, even though it was a simple mistake, the Centurions would mercilessly beat them up until they could no longer stand on their own two feet. And our heroes were appalled by these sights.

They suddenly heard a painful mourning cry of a woman in distress and when they turned they beheld her on her knees, tugging at a centurion's leg. The centurion held something, or someone at his firm grasp; dangling carelessly away from the woman but near the sturdy concrete floor it looked like it was a person-no, not a person... a baby!

The heroes were shocked and frightened. The baby was crying. The woman was begging, tears streaked her face, "Please oh please, sir! Pleaaase, he is just a child! Spare him! Take my life instead!"

"YOUR life?" the centurion spat, "Pah! Your life has no meaning! Where's the fun in torturing you when I can torture THIS one!"

"NOOO!"

"Shut up!" the Centurion then crouched before the woman; and still dangling the helpless crying baby he hissed, "Now, are you going to stop slacking on your job and start being more productive? HUH? You and your little brat here?"

"B-but my baby is...!"

"...perfectly fine to carry on two pounds of gold." When the Centurion said that, our heroes were twice as shocked and dismayed by this. The Centurion then asked, "Now is he going to cooperate?"

The woman said no words. The Centurion grinned, stood up and said, "I thought so."

At this, the Centurion brandished out his sword and raised it above the crying baby. The woman lunged at the soldier, wailing in panic; but she got quickly restrained by the other soldiers who forced her in place. The citizens helplessly watched but none could make a move to stop the horror that was going to unfold...

"HEY!" Pit's scream pulled everyone's attention away from the distressed woman and the helpless baby to the courageous ex-angel and his companions. "What's the matter with you?" he raged at the Centurion, "Didn't you hear the woman say he's just a baby? I command you to drop him and let them go RIGHT NOW in the name of the Goddess Palutena!"

There was a slight pause. Then Pit quickly added with a grin, "But please drop the baby very nicely? 'cause you know… he's fragile."

The centurion guards exchanged glances and hearty laughter they belched out. "Goddess Palutena?" the centurion exclaimed, "HA! You make me laugh! Hahaha!"

"Pit." Galen approached the young angel and said to him, "Pit. What are you doing?"

And Pit assertively said, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to help these people!" he then glared at Galen, "And besides they are your people too!" he reminded him, for the people of that province were also Olympians and the Dragonking's people.

But Galen failed to see that. For all of his life, he was a Dragonprince. He only earned the title of Dragonking soon after the invasion of his country and that was a sudden turn of event for him, for he was not prepared for this.

"Hey, well look who it is?" barked the Centurion at the sight of the Dragonking. All beheld the returning ruler and commotion spread about his presence. The Centurion dropped the baby to the woman's arms and all approached the heroes. The woman seized that chance to flee in hiding.

"It's the Dragonprince of Olympia, Galen." the Centurion laughed, "I guess we can now call you Dragonking now huh? Now that your precious parents and Royal families are DEAD!"

"Shut up."

"Oh, what's that? I can't hear you through all that dragon smoke! Please, you're all talk and no action. You were only taught how to be spoiled, not be a real man!"

"Dude. If I were you, I'd skin him alive." Terren said to Galen, encouraging him. But Galen just stood there, unable to move. He was seething, yes. But Terren, Pit and the rest of the crew desperately waited for Galen's first strike. Nothing.

"What? No come backs?" the soldier mocked, "No attack or anything?" The soldier's mocking turned frustrating, for he was expecting a fight yet received none. Seething he approached the group but another soldier pulled him back by the shoulder.

"Leave him." he advised, "He's pretty much like any other peasants here. Not worth a challenge since the last king. After all, the Province and all of Olympia now belong to us."

So the soldiers started taking their leave, while the tough soldier trailed behind with one longing look at Galen before launching a slaver on the muddy sand and departed.

Now that they were all gone, Pit angrily stepped before Galen and said to him, "Why didn't you make the first move? Why didn't you attack these mad Romans? You saw what they were gonna do to that woman and her baby right?"

"Pit, I'm not blind. I know exactly what they were going to-!"

"Not blind huh? Then what are you then, a chicken?"

"Pit, watch your tone."

"No, YOU watch it!" Pit snapped, "You're the ruler of these people. Not their servant! You should have done something! The moment these freaks had these innocent men, you should've stepped up and show them who you really are rather than hide behind your comrades like a frightened little child! Clearly I lost my respect for you!"

Then Bella, Praus and Gwen stepped before Pit, and the princess firstly said, "Pit, please. Let him be. This is clearly a shock to him to see his people this way."

"Yeah, cut him some slacks, Pit." Praus said, "He didn't know what to do."

"Please calm down." said Bella.

"Guys, I'm fine." Galen said to them, "Pit is right."

The heroes all turned to him, astonished. Pit remained fumed. Galen then added, "I needed to do something for my people. But I couldn't bear to do it."

Galen then looked over to where the woman with her child went to hide, for he had his eyes on them since the trouble began and since the Centurions abandoned her. He said, "I'm going to check on these poor souls. See if they're okay."

At that he took his leave.

Terren smacked Pit in the head. "ow."

"Wait to go, Pit." Terren hissed, "That was just outright rude. Imagine if someone said that to you."

"Hey! I was trying to prove a point!" Pit argued, "But seriously, am I the only one here?"

Everyone but Bella and Gwen who said "No." said "Yes." and all turned to them.

"Pit was right in a way." Gwen spoke first, "Galen hasn't been like this since the invasion. He used to be strong and courageous and ready to put his enemies into their places. But now...I think he's..."

"...scared?" Bella added and Gwen nodded.

"Scared of what, exactly?" Praus argued, "He's the Dragonking!"

It took a while for Gwen to reply, and this is what she disclose, "He is scared of failing his people."

So Galen pushed through the wooden door and found his way inside the poor woman's humble abode. They weren't much but she was very disorganized-used dishes and meals to one corner, messy clothings in another. There were just not enough time for her to take care of her own home.

Galen found her cradled on a tiny squeaking bed that looked like it was about to give way any second. She was gently rocking her baby. The same baby that was scared and crying for its life ten seconds ago has calmed down and was in peace under its loving mother's arms.

"You're okay?" he asked, kneeling before her. She turned her frightened brown eyes to him and with tremor in her tone said, "Why did you come back?"

"You are my people." Galen replied.

The woman shook her head, "N...no."

Silence. Galen watched the woman with her baby for just another second.

"Please ma'am. Let me prove it to you."

"You can't." her voice broke, tears streamed down her face, "My baby almost died. And..." she shook her head, "...you're much too young. We're lost."

The woman paused, watching her baby fall asleep, "...the only thing we'd have to live for now is this sick and twisted Hunger Games at the city's colosseum."

Upon hearing this, the pity on Galen's face got replaced by utter shock. "What...?"

"Every day, the Roman officers would pick any one of us to fight one another to the death. And make this into a spectacle. Whoever wins gets a hefty amount of coins...not money. Coins. Enough to feed us for a whole day."

Galen's eyes widened. The woman went on, "The defeated loses their lives. If not in battle, by the guillotine."

"You can't be serious!"

"She's serious." spoke a man from the entrance. It was the woman's husband. Galen turned to him and the woman didn't hesitate to run to her husband's arms in tears. The man couldn't believe these soldiers were about to kill an innocent baby. He embraced both his loved ones without letting go.

"I can't believe that you're here, Dragonprince." the man said to Galen, "These barbarians managed to drag you back here. Now you're a prisoner like one of us."

"A prisoner?"

"Anyone who comes to the Province against their will is now a prisoner. And the province is the only city left of all Olympia."

"That can't be true."

"Look, prince. We really need a savior." said the peasant, "You're the only asset for our freedom. The whole Royal Family and guards are gone. Now if you were a little more strong-willed and a little less spoiled and self-serving as we've known you all these years, things would be different."

Galen paused, "Maybe things are going to be different."

The family turned their attention to him.

It was then that Galen asked, "Where is the Colosseum?"

xXx

"You guys think that Galen is going to come to his senses anytime soon?" Pit asked his comrades from inside the Province's local pub, which was not surprisingly occupied by a majority of Romans. But before Pit could get an answer from the scolding faces of his comrades he quickly added, "Because seriously, he's the Dragonprince! And aren't Dragons supposed to be tough? I had to battle a Hewdraw 24 years ago."

Terren dropped his fork, which had a small morsel of raspberry-flavored pig, then turned to Pit with great awe. He repeated, "_You _battled a Hewdraw?"

"Hewdraw are supposed to be creatures from the Underworld. _Fictional _creatures told from our childhood." Praus explained with great curiosity, "How can you actually battle one?"

Pit, completely dismissive of the fact that he was living among humans and not his people, grinned nervously and added deceitfully, "Oh... did I say Hewdraw? I meant...!" then like a big slap on the face, he knew they were deceiving him for they knew his secret!

"H-HEEY!" Pit exclaimed and the comrades all let out a great burst of laughter.

"I can't believe you fell for it!" Terren exclaimed.

"Fell for it?" Pit countered angrily, "You guys are the one who actually forgotten about my true origin!"

Then the friends got quiet like the dead of night.

"Touché." Praus muttered.

"Yeah I can't even believe we even did that. What's wrong with us?" Terren muttered.

As the friends pondered about their possible memory loss, an old man, with whom nobody knew of his age, but appeared rather gangly and decrepit, came into the pub. His hair was whitish-grey and his beard, like waterfall, cascaded down to his knees. His skin was as wrinkled as an old prune and his joints looked like gnarled tree branches. He came into the pub looking rather frantic and the color on his face was as white as wax.

Pit saw that man first, and then his friends saw him. And when they did saw that old man, they couldn't avert their attention from him, until the old man himself spotted them at their table. That was when he approached.

"Please, kind warriors. You've gotta help me." he begged. "My daughter. She's..." his shivering words died in his throat and quickly the warriors found pity in him, especially Pit who didn't hesitate to get off his chair to assist the old man.

"Oh my gosh." he said, "Your daughter is in trouble?"

"Where is she?" The princess Gwenifer inquired.

The old man shook his head, "I don't know." he said, "I wish I knew but I don't. I am afraid for her safety kind warriors. Very afraid. What if something terrible happened to her? What if?"

The old man appeared edgy. Enough for him to look around in haste as if he doesn't have enough time to waste. "I have to get to her before she loses her life. It'll be all my fault."

"Where's your daughter?" Pit asked, closing in on the old man. Terren put a hand on Pit's shoulder and said to him, "Wait, Pit. Don't deal with him alone. Let me help him find his daughter."

But Pit, as spitfire and stubborn as he was, replied to Terren fiercely, "Hey, come on! Let me deal with this on my own. I'll be fine."

"But..." Bella tried to speak also but Pit interjected, "I know what I'm doing." he then whispered, "I'm servant of the Goddess Palutena. I can do anything. Even rescuing lost children. Trust me, 'kay?"

Pit turned to the old man and said, "You can count on me, sir!"

"I'm Didache by the way. And my daughter's name is..." he paused briefly before finishing, "...Menasa. Yes. Menasa. She's a very bright girl."

"Menasa?" repeated a curious Bella, "I've never heard of such a name as Menasa."

"My wife was to one who named her. It means..." he hesitated once more, "Black beauty. It's from an ancient tongue." he turned to Pit, "Now can we please leave?" he said frantically, "I'm getting anxious just standing there not looking."

"You got it!" Pit replied before facing his comrades, "I'll be back in a flash. Hang tight!" and Pit took off from the pub with the old man Didache.

It was already midafternoon by the time Pit and Didache reached the outskirts of town, and they had to stop by a grassy meadow bedded of gleaming flowers and fig trees for they have been walking for almost half of two miles. Pit was exhausted, so exhausted in fact that he was bent with his hands resting on his knees. Old man Didache however was not at all breathless. But he was trailing behind the young former angel.

"You didn't have to do that, young Pit. You could tire yourself out."

Didache said to him with a tone of concern; to which Pit replied, "It's fine. I'm okay. I'll be up on my feet in a second." he then stretched. Didache turned to his left and started walking away. Pit proceeded to speak, unaware that Didache was already away into the open field.

"So tell me Didache." Pit said, "Where do you think your daughter could be?" he looked around the gleaming meadow, " 'cause I don't think she'll disappear in such a place like this unless..."

Pit slowly stopped speaking upon realizing that the old man Didache was gone. He became very troubled in spirit and anxious, unaware of what might have happened to the innocent old man whom he escorted to the meadow to find his daughter.

Then lo! A great surge of Monoeyes, Micks and Shemums came charging at Pit, taking him by great surprise and landed so many blows at him so great that his vision blurred out and he lost consciousness.

xXx

Now a bit farther from the Province of Vivaldi there lay a great colosseum, where great combat of tears and blood were fought; and such battle were usually for entertainment purposes. Wherefore this time it was no longer an entertainment for the citizens whose city was now under the captivity of Rome, whose turn was now theirs to enjoy such contest.

There were many men, women and even children standing before a great crowd in the colosseum, reluctantly awaiting their turn to partake in this contest of life and death for the reward of a day's wage of foods necessary to feed only a small group of people for that day only. Anyone else who has not received their provisions would have to deal with two choices: partake in the contest or starve to death. The citizens of the Province found this brutal contest of arms cold and dishonorable. Yet because they were now under the command of these callous Romans, and their portions was now limited to half a day, they had no choice but to kill for food, or starve for life.

So this great concourse of people has gathered to witness that dishonorable contest of arms. And amongst these poor citizens who were called away from their slaving work to be part of this was a little girl, about eight years old. Her hair was dark brown and had tresses and she wore a beautiful white dress with frills at the end part of it and tiny white shoes.

Now this girl was very scared and terrified. She was shaking in place. Her teeth were rattling like a rattler and her palms were sweating. She didn't understand what was amiss; nevertheless she knew that her parents were in the same position as she was three months ago. And now she was all alone.

Then the trumpets resounded and the Roman cheers filled the air with such great loudness, it proved difficult to speak to a close person even at a loud tone.

Then a Roman guard known only as Rinan-who was so heartless, people had spread rumors that it was him who got this contest of arms ready in the first place-spoke with joy in his voice.

"Welcome everybody!" he said to the people, "On behalf of His Excellency the Emperor Pilaf of the Roman Empire, I'd like to welcome you all to the Hunger Games!"

Then after another loud cheer from the audience he proceeded, "Now for this special combat edition we will have instead of our fine candidates here fight against each other for the provision price, fight against the latest of greatest."

Then Rinan made the signal and a group of Roman soldiers-about twelve of them-came into the arena, dragging with them by the metal chains a bounded beast that struck fear in many, many hearts. The beast was shaped like an oversized giant skeleton, with horns and extracting a cold poisonous aura. The beast tilted and twirled, unable to break its chains. (_Spoiler: it's the same bounded monster found in Chapter 4 of Uprising_)

When the people in the arena saw the beast they were petrified and wailed in utter agony. But when the crowd saw this bounded beast, they shouted with great anticipation, saying, "Release it! Release it! Release it!"

"BEHOLD!" Rinan shouted out, "The everlasting beast of the Reapers' Fortress: the Clubberskull!"

The crowd shouted all the more, "Release it! Release it! Release it!"

Rinan raised his arm up in a signal that made the crowd go silent and he spoke, "I have an idea." a cold sneer appeared on his face, "Why not let..." he turned to the little girl and pointed at her, "...this little child, release that monster."

The child scream with a mighty tone "NO!" and all the citizen in the colosseum began to panic, fearing for this poor child but unable to make a move, for such attempt could cost their own lives. They watched along with the cheering heartless crowd, the soldiers forcing the chain key onto her tiny hands and dragging the girl toward the trapped clubberskull. She was fighting and trashing and begging for freedom, for she didn't wanted to face off with such dangerous creature.

Then by the time she and the soldiers reached the clubberskull, out came a loud shout from the arena. All eyes turned to the person who made his descent before the girl and the guards, and they beheld Galen.

"Release the girl." he said vehemently. "I will release the monster."

When the people heard this, and when they recognized Galen the former Dragonprince, they were astonished by his boldness and the crowd were giddier than ever for they were excited to see what mighty terrible fate will unfold in the prince's life before the damned clubberskull. But as for the accursed Rinan, he was not too thrilled. For he knew in his heart that the Dragonking will have a chance against such weakling yet still terrifying monster like the clubberskull.

xXx

Now Eris, one of the Knights of the Light was wandering down the basement halls of Skyworld in her quest for any evidence to expose Acario as a prominent threat to Skyworld. But the moment she passed by a dungeon, something disturbing caught her attention inside. With a spare key on hold, Eris quickly unlocked the dungeon's cell, swung it open and lo; did she beheld Zeidrik and Aleda, bounded from head to toe in heavy chains, heavy enough to sustain even the mightiest of dragons.

When she saw this she let out a great woe and so did the prisoners. She rushed into the cell and unable to think and act at that moment, she panicked, screaming, "What the heck? Zeidrik?! Aleda?! B-but I thought that-!"

Zeidrik and Aleda tried to shout to her, that it was all a trap! That it was all the doing of Ebony of the Underworld Army seeking the conquest of Skyworld in the name of her fallen leader Medusa; for that her plan was to capture the holy land by sending out two morphed demons as their replacements and to have Acario working under Palutena's command, all while leaking out information to the enemy as a way to unleash a surprise attack on her and the people, thus deceiving her!

...but their jaws were gagged by a dirty rag filled with slime and filth, they could even took a zest of the unpleasant taste.

So when Eris went to unbound their jaws so that they could speak, Zeidrik and Aleda cried out all the more, their eyes fixated on something behind Eris. So Eris turned around and was greeted by a frightening Ganewmede.

Eris screamed and sped off from the monster. Then the dungeon's windows shattered and out came zombies. Yes. Zombies. The trio was greatly terrified; Zeidrik lost his senses and fainted. The creatures soon invaded the entire chamber. Eris didn't see how many they were, but it was enough to fill guests of a ballroom on a royal wedding night.

Ganewmedes shot out spiky balls at her. She flicked left, then bobbed right, then back-flipped, dodging all of its attacks. Then a zombie pinned her to the ground and grazed her face hard onto the concrete floor. Before she knew it, the zombies were on top of her, digging their claws from their hands and feet and burying deep into the meaty muscle, enough to make her weep in pain. Aleda, the only one who had not fainted, was screaming for her friend, but unable to help, all she could do was to watch Eris's tears of agony flooding her wavering vision, trailing down her battered face, and her one free hand pounding the ground as in begging for surrender.

Echo, who possessed great hearing ability to listen from a distance, came running down the hall at the cry of his twin sister, and skidded to a halt at the sight of the underworld invasion before him. No time to behold the hellish scene, he ran into the dungeon. Yet he didn't chance to cross through the opened door when Acario materialized before him.

He stopped short and before he could react, Acario clutched his neck and ran him to a wall with his clawed fists wringing his throat in a flash of pain. He let Echo drop on the ground like a ragged doll. Then he was pinned, his right calf swiftly crushed by a gigantic foot the weight of a stone. In agony he screamed, with fire racing across his spine and tears blurring his fading vision.

Aleda ruffled through her binding body of heavy chains in a speedy rush to save her two friends, but before she could even free up one arm, Echo and Eris, no longer screaming, lay quiet as though in death. It was then that she beheld a monstrosity that took away these two Knights of the Light in a heartbeat. His skin was as if made of fine bronze and ore material. His teeth were all solid gold, and his robe was as white as the whitest ghost with ebony edges. His height was as great as Acario at about 12 feet for a regular size, but up close, he was terrifying.

Aleda beheld a Titan!

xXx

Now back at the Province, Terren, Bella, Praus, and the princess Gwenifer had taken notice of Pit's long absence and the twilight was upon them that they began to worry for him. They teamed up and planned out how they were going to search for him. Terren and the princess were to search at the northern district, and Bella and Praus were to look over the southern district for any sign of him. They were to regroup back at the Province Square which was in the middle of the Province.

After at least four hours of search, they have regrouped with no success.

"Any sign of Pit?" Praus asked them but they shrugged and shook heads, "No clue."

"Dang it, where could that pesky angel boy be?" Terren complained, "First we lose Galen and now him!"

"He's not the only one that we've lost." said Praus, taking notice that the once party of six, and then party of four has suddenly been reduced to a party of three.

"Princess Gwen is gone too?" Bella exclaimed, for the princess was also missing. She turned to Terren, "I thought you were going to watch over her!"

"I did!" Terren exclaimed, beginning to fear the worst, "She must have slipped from my fingers like Pit."

"Great. Now we've lost two people!" Praus complained.

"What?" came the outcry of Zeidrik, as he approached the group along with his companion Aleda—or rather, they were the fake Zeidrik and Aleda.

"Please tell me that you human bunch didn't lose Pit!" Zeidrik demanded, which he received no reply from the group, making him think otherwise.

"You lost Pit, didn't you?" Aleda asked. The group fell silent, unable to respond to this.

xXx

Now Pit found himself waking up from a great slumber. So great in fact that he had no idea when he had fallen asleep and for how long. But his vision got completely cleared up when he suddenly realized that he was bound by two metal cuffs hanged by two chains buried deep inside a bed of hay, where Pit lay upon. Pit also notice that the bed of hay was moving... and he was moving...by what sounded like a chariot carried on by two horses. He struggled through the metal binding, but to no avail they wouldn't budge.

"Awake yet?"

He heard the voice of the old man Didache who was driving the chariot. Pit was shocked, dismayed to see this old man, as fragile and innocent as he was, taking him to goddess-knows-where, as a prisoner! Instead of him searching for his missing daughter. It was all a sick twisted ruse that he was made a fool of!

"Didache?" Pit gasped, "What the heck are you doing, kidnapping a child like me?" he asked.

"A child?" Didache laughed, "Why, you're not a child. Not one bit. You're an angel."

Pit frowned, "An angel?" he sputtered, feigning a smile, "Me, an angel?"

"I can sense the angel blood flowing through your veins." Didache snarled, "And the wings that your beloved Goddess concealed from us humans are not even a bit stripped, but they are hidden within you. Oh, and you actually unveiled your true self when you said to your comrades that you were servant of the Goddess Palutena. Ohh, how gullible you are."

"That doesn't prove anything." Pit protested.

"Oh, but don't worry," Didache added, "I'll make sure to bring back your true form in an instant, you'll know it."

Pit rolled his eyes and muttered, "Too late for that." Didache glanced back at him.

"I mean, what makes you think that I'm an _angel_? Do you actually see wings on my back, even if they are concealed as you claim?"

Didache opened his mouth to speak but Pit cut him off, "Know what? Don't answer that. You're just insane."

"Insane?" Didache pulled out of his coat a sharp piece of shiny glass. The glass glimmered, radiating under the sun and displaying a reflection of Pit. When Pit saw that glass, he immediately recognized it and his mouth hung open.

"Do you recognize this?" Didache asked, "I reckon that by the look on your face you recognize it _really _well. That's right. It's a piece of the divine Olympian treasure the Avalon: an Avalon Shard."

"Where did you get it?" Pit whispered with contempt.

Didache shrugged, "Does it matter?" he said, "One touch of it, from the supernatural, and their true powers will be exposed. I've heard about that little show you put up back in Rome. I will love to see that show again."

"Little show? What are you talking about?"

"Why your true form of course. But it was more than that: you grew wings, your eyes blazed sparkling fire, your body emitted a glowing darkness... It was spectacular!"

"You're just insane."

"Am I?" hissed Didache, "We'll see who's clearly the insane one in the bunch once I expose this glass unto you. You'll never be the same again."

So Didache stuffed the shard back to his coat and whipped his chariot horses faster, and he and Pit were on their way, miles away from the Province.

xXx

Back at the Province, the troubled friends had to deal with the two guardians of Pit, Zeidrik and Aleda, as Bella made reply, saying, "Pit had only left the Province with this one old man. I believe he was called Didache. They should be here any minute!"

"Doesn't matter if Pit teams up with a school of kids to find their three lost treasures of marble, stick and clay!" Zeidrik made comment, "What matters is that Pit cannot put his trust on unknown mortals! It is our duty to protect him! We have to find him now!"

"Wait, but what about the princess? And the Dragonking Galen?" Praus asked.

Zeidrik and Aleda hesitated. "You guys don't want to know." Aleda said.

Terren stepped up before the two ex-angels and boldly said, "Try us."

It took Zeidrik and Aleda a great moment of time to respond. And their response brought great trouble of heart among Terren, Bella and Praus. Aleda said to them.

"You cannot save him, for in a matter of second the Dragonking will meet a terrible fate."

xXx

"Well, Dragonprince." Rinan greeted Galen bitterly, "Fancy not meeting you here."

Rinan gave the signal and the guards released the girl. The freed girl ran to Galen and gave him a hug so great, she wasn't willing to let go. Galen returned the hug then faced the girl, "You're okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I appreciate you sticking up for baby girls, Dragonprince." said Rinan, "Or should I call you Dragonking now that you do not have a family anymore."

Galen took the key from the little girl and stood up to face Rinan who went on, "but this is Vivaldi's newest tradition now. They fight for food or they did trying. You can't change tradition, boy! For you want nothing more to deal with the affairs of your own state than to be pampered and spoiled like the spoiled little dragon brat you are."

Then Galen made reply, "I was a dragon brat. But now I'm the king. A king returning to his own country and take back what is rightfully his and save the people of Vivaldi from this tyranny you call fun. So as your new king I command you to stand down and leave this place!"

"And what if I don't?"

Galen turned to the clubberskull then back at Rinan and said, "I see that you're not willing to listen to my words so how about a deal from yours truly?" he said, "I release this monster, I fight it, I defeat it, and all of these citizens standing behind me as well as the entire Province gets their foods back. And not just their foods back, but their freedoms too. And you and your Roman curs go back to whence hell you crawl out of and never return."

At this the crowd of people began to shout, saying, "Take the deal! Take the deal! Take the deal!" in which Rinan was reluctant to do so. But with hesitation, and a dash of smile on his face, he said with one accord, "All right. Fine by me."

The crowd loudly cheered. The citizens were surprised, yet pleased by Galen's boldness before the Roman general. Soon their sufferings will be no more.

But then, Rinan made yet another signal and the guards began dragging the Clubberskull out of the arena's exterior. That brought great concern to Galen, for now he wasn't going to fight the clubberskull anymore but something else rather terrifying.

"Wait..." Galen said to the guards, "Where are you going with this? I thought we had a deal...?"

"No. YOU had a deal. I didn't. On a different matter." Rinan said before shouting out, "Bring on the Twinbellows!" The colosseum host shouted out and when Galen heard that name, his eyes flashed wide open and he stood for a while like one turned into a stone. "T-Twinbellows?"

Twinbellows made its entrance: its fur, engulfed in flames, illuminated the noonday skies even the more and the soldiers at a hard time keeping it under the chains it was bound to. The Twinbellows roared and slammed on the ground so hard that his flames shot out and completely consumed the chains and the soldiers that were holding him. When the Romans crowd gazed upon this, they gave praises with loud acclaim and exhilarated joy of heart for such battle of life and death between an exiled harmless prince and the Underworld's faithful watchdog had never been done before across the realm.

The Beast beheld that his opponent was greatly disturbed with skin as white as wax, and it loved it. His prey was more the more delicious however terrified they were.

Galen turned back to Rinan and shouted, "What's the meaning of this? What of the clubberskull?"

"Dragonking, a person such as you with such great powers deserves a much bigger challenge worthy of your status." Rinan explained, "The clubberskull will prove nothing. But this beast will."

The Twinbellows ruffled its flaming furs, ready itself for combat. Galen turned back to the beast. An unexpected surprise it was for him to face a Twinbellows before the crowd, but for the sake of his people he had no choice but to face it.

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

-Dark Pit returns unto Pit. And Didache finds a hard time with him.

-Fake Zeidrik and Aleda are almost exposed. Almost.

-Palutena gets a surprise visit.

-Galen must deal with the unexpected.

**Next Chapter: Major Fallout**


	10. Ep8: Major Fallout

**Disclaimer: **The Kid Icarus series belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.

* * *

**KID ICARUS  
_Returns!_**

* * *

Episode 8: Major Fallout  


_These are the Sacred Words of an Angel Story. _

_Pit voluntarily left the Angel Land of Skyworld on a mission to redeem the mortals, acknowledged him as the savior who freed the human race from Medusa and her Underworld Army._

_But then a mystical treasure, a magnificent sword, has placed a hold on Pit's mission. As beautiful as the most precious of jewels, but as vile as the most poisonous serpent, its magic has exposed his powers to the human race, thus making them fearful of him and hostile toward him._

_But the brazen angel is not going down that easily as he is about to discover that this treasure is more than just an ordinary sword. It is a key to a much, much bigger threat…_

xXx

At the resounding trumpet sound and the ferocious cry of the people, the Twinbellows shifted its head down, horns pointing at its target, then charged. Galen spread his legs apart, bent his knees, and hands shot out before the charging beast, but lo, the Twinbellows collided at him and he soared to a wall with such force, he cried out like his spine just shattered. He fell on his knees.

The Twinbellows roared and the crowd followed in cheers. At once again, the beast charged at him. Galen looked up and shot an exclamation of surprise. The beast was closing on him. He rolled out of the way and watched the beast dove through the wall; millions of stones and pebbles pelted into him and the dust overwhelmed his sight and nose, forcing him to wildly cough. He peered, squinted through the hazy sandscreen a quarter of the colosseum's heavy bricks reduced into ashes, taking down with them half of the spectators, wailing in panic, speeding in a frenzy, and a quarter of them holding on to dear life upon the weakened ledge. One slip up and they'll fall right onto the beast's flaming furs and would melt like bones to a boiling lava. Those who weren't near spread out in a frenzy, still a major number of them stayed for such great part. The colosseum was utter chaos.

The beast pulled out of the demolished wall with ease, and appeared to have no bruises on its face. Not even a mere scratch. The beast was immortal. Galen was on the ground, glaring in great awe and fear of this monstrosity of Hell before it, he couldn't even keep a stiff upper lip. Of course Galen heard a great deal of this mythical creature while growing up: from bedtime stories to writing manuscripts in classrooms for research purposes. But never in his entire dragonic life has he crossed path with one in the rotted flesh. But there it was: 9 feet tall, 7 feet wide, about 350 pound of grazed and battered skin draped in flames shedding its blinded light like a walking mansion on fire. All in all terrifying.

The Twinbellows eyed him, slowly stepped forward and once again it sped up. Galen curled his fingers over a handful of sands and once it was that time for the Twinbellows to scoop him over with its sharp horns that he shot the sands off his palm and right onto the beast's sight. The beast let out a great roar of pain as its felt its eyes searing and burning, and the crowd broke a sharp exclamation of surprise.

Galen seized that chance of the beast's blindness to sprawl below its legs and with only his sharp nails dug them right onto the beast's stomach and slew it open as he slid through the sands until he was right behind the beast. The beast felt its guts tearing off and its outcry grew twice as loud. And just like the beast, the crowd cried out as well, in absolute shock and awe.

As Rinan witnessed all of this, he turned anxious and edgy. He refused to so fathom the fact that Galen was winning a match against a beast summoned from the Underworld. Yet somehow he knew it was expected as Galen himself was of a dragon origin.

Galen turned to watch the beast flipped around to face him but couldn't bear to focus on its target for its vision was quickly fading and its movement turned woozy. It was only a matter of seconds before the beast lost consciousness and hit the arena floor with such great force, all of its organs from its opened gut spilled out, causing an unpleasant mess on the field.

And the crowd upon being a witness to this raised their voice with great praises and acclaims for the dragon victor. Their cheers for the dragon's victory over the beast were louder than the once-excitement for his expected defeat. Rinan frowned upon him but Galen said nothing. He briefly checked his nails which were covered in blood and charred skin.

xXx

The chariot came to a full stop before a large caving chamber at the base of a great mountain. Old man Didache descended from the chariot and scurried before two large walls made of stones. Now Didache was giddy with excitement, but he restrained himself from showing it before his prisoner Pit.

He had successfully accomplished a great errand capturing the angel servant of the Goddess Palutena. He would have captured another angel, or maybe a bird that bears a faint resemblance of it, but he wanted Pit; for he had a dream once… about Medusa and her promise.

Now Didache was no ordinary old man. He was a necromancer, a skillful wizened man who dedicated his life to summoning, speaking with, and reanimating spirits from the Underworld and the Realm of the Dead. This spiritist recently received messages from Medusa through dreams. At first he didn't understood those dreams and he usually would dismiss them. But one night she made a promise to him, that in exchange for her reanimation back to the Underworld and the Realm of the Living, she would grant him a portion of her vast power. She then asked him, "What power would you like?" and with one shrill word, he replied, "Immortality."

Now Didache, a weak and selfish man so close to his time, was intrigued by that promise. He would do ANYTHING, even kill a baby, to gain at least 100 more years in the Realm of the Living. And thus he has been spending several years gathering the ingredients necessary to bring back the Underworld queen and earn his richly deserved reward. He was successful in gathering a great portion of these ingredients, but there was one he failed to find. Until now.

According to dead spirits he consulted, the only missing ingredient was not one, not two, but ten feathers, from the wings of the angel who slew Medusa 24 years ago: Pit!

"HEY! Old man!"

Didache snapped back from reality and turned to Pit, "What?" he spat at him.

"You have something on your face."

"Oh." The old man rubbed his wrinkly mug and brushed his beard, "What is it?"

"It's your creepy smile." Pit slurred, "Wipe that off. You're scaring the children."

Didache scowled at that insult. He turned back to the two front stone doors and slammed his frail palms on them. With great effort and heave he pushed hard on the two stones, shoving them open. Its loud grazing noises filled his ears.

The room revealed a large cave, big enough to fill many animals in, should a rainy day comes. Bumpy trails led to a great descent, to yet another room, filled with dry cement smell under a stuffy hot temperature. The cave's smell however was not as pleasant for it was damp and wet and allowed fungi and molded substances to grow and spread in every corner. The sunlight bathed the cave in brightness; and even if the doors were closed again the cave would still give off a faint glow that wouldn't just go away easily.

So Didache turned, ran to the chariot and wrapping his wrinkled hand around the rope, dragged his transport into the cave.

"You do realize that very soon I'm gonna break free of these chains and I'm gonna give you a beating?" Pit warned, "Because we as Angels are allowed to punish sinful men like you, y'know?"

"Shut up."

"Was that?" Pit taunted, "I can't hear you over here! You gonna have to cough up that slurring speech of yours and speak louder!"

"How about you get your ears checked?" Didache hissed, "Too much video games and music player got your attention averted!"

"I'm not the one with attention deficit!" Pit said just as Didache turned from him and looked over the cave as if something caught his ears. The old man turned back to Pit with a confused look, "Was that?"

"See what I mean?"

Didache climbed to the chariot, pulled out the shard from under his robe and shot out near Pit's face. Pit quickly pulled away, grunting, for he could feel the scorching glow of fire in the shard within cheek reach.

"Don't make me use this on you, angel. I don't care if I get punished by your goddess when I die, all I want is life everlasting and you're gonna help me get it whether you like it or not. So shut up or the shard goes to your chest."

"Try me." Pit answered boldly. Didache shifted, "Very well." and with one mighty blow, Didache struck the shard onto Pit's chest, and Pit cried out with great agony and despair.

xxx

Palutena's eyes shot open. She pulled up from her Goddess-Sized bed and looked across her ivory chamber with panic. "Pit…?"

"Pit!" She said again, jumping off her bed and ran down the long winding hall, overlooking the skies. She hasn't reached the end of the hall when she finally realized that Pit was still in the Mortal realm. She had to send him there recently by his request to win the mortals over his victory against Medusa and the last time she spoke with him was when he was exposed by that accursed blade the Avalon.

So many questions ran in her mind. Was he okay? Was he hurt? She had to reach him!

"Echo! Eris!" she continued down the halls, shouting for her trusty Knights of Light; "Are you all here? Answer me!"

The fair goddess reached the end of the hall and entered a large space. Her gentle voice broke in a sharp gasp. She gazed, woefully at a pile of Centurions lying unconscious on the ground.

"Oh my…" she stammered, "…my Centurions."

One Centurion Strongarm rolled to his back and groaned. Palutena knelt before him. "What are you all doing here? Please tell me you are lazing on the job!"

"T… Titans…" Strongarm coughed, "…we were… taken by surprise."

"I…" Palutena frowned, "I'm sorry, did you just said… Titans?"

"That is exactly what he said." A booming voice made reply, making Palutena's spine shudder. She spun around and beheld the Centurions' attackers: skin made of fine bronze and ore material; teeth, all solid gold, robe as white as the whitest ghost with ebony edges. 12 feet too tall and carried a terrifying aura in him. Palutena knew him.

"Cronus?" she breathed his name. "Titan of the Earth… How did you get in here?"

Cronus pulled from behind him a large golden scythe and rested its blade onto his massive hand, "How about you call me Titan of the Universe?"

Palutena grinned, "Yeah… no. I don't think so. Your brother, Hyperion, _is_ the Titan of the Universe."

"Indeed I am." Palutena recognized another booming voice. A light beam shot before Cronus and formed yet another Titan shaped exactly like Cronus; except that his skin were ruby red and his long hair was strawberry-colored and gelled back, compared to Cronus' hair which was spiky short and golden.

"Thanks for the formal introduction, brother Cronus." Spoke the second Titan, "I'll take it from here. But next time, please say 'call _me_ Titan of the Universe.'"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Cronus said bitterly.

"No, no. You said 'call me Titan of the Universe.' Emphasize on the 'me' to address…" he pointed at himself, "'me'. As in _me_, Hyperion?"

Cronus said nothing. Hyperion paused, realizing something—or someone was missing. He sighed frustratingly.

"Oh give me a break, sweetheart!" he shouted as if speaking to another god, "How long is it going to take you to do your hair and makeup?!"

Another beam of light shot out of nowhere and another Titanic figure appeared before Hyperion, Cronus and Palutena. The figure was female, and her body was made of aquamarine crystal, and her teeth were as bright as diamond. Her hair had feminine curls resting on her shoulders and was as white as snow.

She had a crystal mirror on hand and was checking her eyelashes before putting it away to face Hyperion with a huff, "Well, _excuuuuse_ me for trying to catch up on my beauty treatment!" she snarled, "It's been centuries since I've seen daylight and myself in the mirror thanks to that accursed AVALON!"

"You and me both, sister." Cronus muttered.

"I can't believe you're all here…" Palutena said, "Cronus, Hyperion… and Tethys. The Three Titans." Her face tightened, "Now I need to ask you again, how did you get in here?!"

Hyperion shrugged, "I don't know. I guess we had some… help."

The three Titans stepped aside, allowing Acario and Ebony to approach the goddess. They walked as if in unison and their eyes were glowing like the sun. Seeing this made Palutena shake.

xxx

Back at the Arena, Galen turned to Rinan and said with a full-spirited mocking voice, "Well… looks like I have achieved the end of my bargain. At the cost of my beautiful fingers of course…" he showed his hands to the law officer before adding, "…now, for you to keep up the end of your bargain. YOU… must release my people!"

The crowd cried out on cue.

"And YOU must relinquish my kingdom!" Galen added, "So that I can finally get myself a royal manicure. I must say, this presentation of the fingers is nasty and beneath me."

Rinan drew a smirk across from his lips then added, "Very well…" he said, "The Twinbellow is from the Underworld, so it's pretty much gonna come back from the dead anyway."

"But about your reward?" he went on, "You still have to earn it though… by going through me." he then turned to a guard and shouted, "Bring her here!"

Galen raised an eyebrow, "Her?"

The soldier left his post then came back and lo, he had seized at his grasp none other than the princess of Rome herself, Gwenifer! When Galen beheld this he froze up like one turned to stone. "Gwen…?" he gasped.

"Ooh, I see love is blooming between you two lovebirds: the dragon of Olympia and the Princess of Rome." Rinan said, "Two countries that hate each other has a little _Beauty and the Beast _action going on? Would you imagine the look on the Emperor's face if he saw that?"

Rinan didn't hesitate; he drew a large dagger and placed it before the princess's throat. She gasped. Galen screamed, "NO!" he was about to dart to his rescue when Rinan forced the knife closer, "ONE more move and she's dead, Dragon."

"You monster…" the dragon breathed, "What do you want from me?"

"Two things: I release your kingdom… only if I kill your beloved. And you submit yourself as the one to have slain her to the Emperor." Rinan said to Galen's horror, "You craved for revenge but didn't know what to do? What better way to get what you want by offing the lovely princess of your sworn enemy country Rome and get your kingdom at the same time?"

Rinan shrugged, "Of course it can go either way. The princess goes free… but your country won't."

Galen was stumped, betrayed, put on a horrible spot. He loved his country, but he couldn't see it go free only by the sacrifice of his beloved. He stood there, lips trembling, tears filling up his eyes at the sight of Gwen, shaking between Rinan and his sharp knife. The crowd roared with such loudness of awe and shock and edginess it could've been heard all across Europe.

"Damn. If only Pit was here to help." He whispered to himself.

xXx

At last, the Avalon Shard that has seared the very chest of Pit disappeared beneath his skin like a sinking stone to a body of water. Seeing this, Didache immediately stepped back and witnessed with great awe the boy's body taking a golden glow, transforming into yet another being. He beheld a great wing of jet black color sprouting out of his spine and split up into two like the petals of a blossoming flower. A golden crown of leaf formed above him to adorn his head. His entire mortal outfit alternated to an ebony chiton, navy blue tight, and sandals. Then the boy's eyes opened up, revealing blazing fire.

At this sight, Didache was very afraid. He stepped back to some little distance, his frightened eyes never left the new Pit who broke through his chained cuffs, rose up from the chariot and floated down before him like a vengeful spirit.

Didache stammered, "I…I…I thought I was told that you would become an angel. I was not informed of summoning an angel of Darkness in you."

Pit rose his eyebrow, "Angel of Darkness?" he said before a smile painted over his face and he replied, "Ah, yes. That's what I am. An Angel of Darkness. What thoughtless angel am I not to think of that."

"Puh-please, spare my life… I'm naught but an old—!"

Didache didn't even finish his sentence when Pit struck a strong arm across the old man's face, sending him some good distance to the gravel near the great descent.

The old man by the cliff struggled to recover all without making a false shift that would send him some twenty feet below. He turned back to the approaching dark angel who was cracking his knuckles and said with a dark joy in his voice.

"This is going to be a really fun time beating up an old man."

The angel grabbed Didache by his outfit and his fingers curled to a stone-shaped fist, "Let's get started, shall we?"

Didache looked ready to cry as Pit pulled his fist back.

xXx

"Why is it that we cannot go help the Dragonking?" Terren made complaint, just as he, along with Bella, Praus, Zeidrik and Aleda have crossed over from a much traveled forest to a fair and level plain adorned with tall grasses and a few tulips.

They stopped to beheld a great cave a little more distant from where they were.

"It is imperative that we find Pit." Aleda said, "He is key to much more trouble that needs to be solved for the sake of the world."

"But for crying out loud, we were there in the Province!" argued Terren, "We could've helped the Dragonking!"

"Terren is right." Added Bella, "Praus and I could have helped him and the princess. And Terren and you two would've dealt with finding Pit! We could work together in this fashion."

"And are you guys sure you know where Pit is?" Praus said with worries in her mind, "We feel like being in the middle of nowhere."

A loud noise that violently shook the earth came on so suddenly, it knocked the heroes out of their balance and forced them on their arses.

"What was that?" a panicked Bella asked as she and the group got up again. Before anyone could make a statement, a loud crash directed their attention toward the cave and lo and behold they saw a living being launched right through the cave's tip and into the sky. They identified the living being as a man. An old man even who sank unto his knees upon the ground, all battered and stained in crimson, as if a wild animal has made an attempted feast on him.

The group beheld him and immediately recognized him.

"Didache!" Terren shouted, threateningly approaching the old man. With anger in his mind, Terren yanked the old man up by the whitish-grey hair of his with such a force that when the old man's feet touched the ground again, his thighs trembled beneath him and he croaked in agony.

Terren pulled out his blade and rested it over the old man's neck, "SPEAK!" he demanded with no mercy in his tone, "What have you done to our friend? What have you done to Pit?!"

The old man tried to speak, to beg for his life, as his tearful terrified eyes were telling the young group. Yet, he fought for his voice to come out and nothing. The old man was speechless.

Then another powerful noisy force was felt, and all looked up to see a black star. Squinting their eyes, the group was able to decipher that star; only it was no star. They beheld the dark angel Pit again.

"Pit?" Bella gasped in awe.

The old man Didache found his voice again, only it was shaky like a small rumble of the ground. He said with tears in his eyes, "Please… spare me! Spare my life! I was forced! I was forced by that dark entity to surrender my life or else! All I wanted was to find my daughter! Please!"

But Terren, Bella, and Praus looked rather uncertain. When they turned to Zeidrik and Aleda, they received shaking of heads as reply. The old man was not to be trusted.

xXx

"Still unsure on what to do huh?" Rinan asked Galen, turning rather impatient by Galen's sudden silence. "How about on the count of three, I make the decision for you... one...two..."

"Let her go!" Galen finally shouted. The crowd turned silent by what he just said.

"...what?" Rinan exclaimed.

"I said let her go." Galen turned crimson, "She's the love of my life. Without her, I'm nothing."

"Galen..." Gwen whispered, tears filling her eyes, "...please, don't. What of your country? They need you."

Galen stood silent for a while, before turning to the crowd of people. All were astonished, silent by his decision. "I don't have any other choice. I'm sorry I failed you again."

Galen turned back to Rinan, "So congratulations, Rinan. My country once again belongs to you."

"So that's it huh?" Rinan huffed, "Very well."

He let go off Gwen but still brandishing his sharp dagger, raised it up and struck the princess's back with it. Gwenifer gasped in sharp pain. Galen cried out in horror and ran toward her as Rinan shoved over off the railing, plummeting forty feet. The princess landed right onto Galen's arms.

The crowd gasped, appalled by that callous display of action from Rinan. Even those spectators coming from Rome, who were highly supportive of Galen's defeat in the past, let out raging voices against such cowardly act of slaying.

"Gwenifer? GWENIFER?!" Galen cried out for his beloved princess, desperately hoping that she would hear him. Her gentle eyes flickered, gazing back with only a little light fading from them. Galen's eyes were filling up with tears.

"G-Galen…" she quivered, slowly reaching up to caress his cheek. Galen gently squeezed her hand, silent as a night. But the crowd being a witness to this continued their rage and wrath for the dragon and the dying princess.

Nonetheless, something else caught the attention of every single person in that arena. Something was fast approaching, coming their way like a speeding phoenix, from the sky at a distance. The object was finally identified and at the sight of it, everyone exclaimed with fear in their hearts.

Dark Pit was coming toward them.

Dark Pit landed a double-kick on Rinan's face, pinning him to the ground. Rinan lost consciousness. Dark Pit pulled out his blades and swung at the charging soldiers, slicing and diving them one-by-one.

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

-The Titans and Dark Pit battle at the Vivaldi Province Arena.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Titans Abounding  
**


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